India and Russia have reached a broad agreement to break the logjam over the protracted price renegotiation over Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier and the two sides are expected to sign a landmark civil nuclear pact during summit talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.
Seeking to resolve the Gorshkov price issue, an irritant in bilateral ties, the two countries have worked out a general agreement, sources said. A pact in this regard, however, is unlikely to be signed during Singh's visit in Moscow.
The Prime Minister arrived in Moscow on a three-day visit, his sixth trip to Russia since 2004, that will also see the inking of three agreements in the field of defence, including one for ending ad-hocism in servicing Russian military equipment.
As a special gesture, the Russian President will host a private dinner for Singh and his wife Gursharan Gaur at his countryside residence in Barvikha outside Moscow.
The path-breaking civil nuclear pact is significant as it will ensure uninterrupted uranium fuel supplies from Russia in the event of termination of bilateral ties in this field for any reason, the sources said.
The agreement is considered by India as a "major improvement" over the 123 pact with the US which provides for not just termination of ongoing cooperation but also for the return to the country of already supplied components and fuel in the event of the accord being scrapped.
Singh, who will hold wide-ranging talks with Medvedev, said in a statement before his departure in New Delhi that he will review the status of bilateral cooperation, including in the key areas of defence, civil nuclear energy, space and hydrocarbons at the annual summit.
"The Annual Summit is the principal mechanism for the advancement of our strategic partnership with Russia. This is a partnership based on the solid foundation of long-standing friendship, deep mutual trust and strong convergence of interests," Singh, who will also meet Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, said.
Ahead of the visit, Singh voiced confidence of finding a "practical solution" to resolve the problem dogging the Gorshkov deal. India had bought the warship in 2004 for $ 974 million, but Russian shipyard Sevmash hiked the price twice since 2007 and currently demands an additional $ 2.9 billion.
On the nuclear deal, the sources said it is marked by a "forward-looking language" in matters relating to reprocessing, nuclear equipments and transfer of technology. Keen to take the Indo-Russian strategic ties to new heights, Singh said atomic cooperation is a "key pillar" in bilateral relations.
In his statement, the Prime Minister noted that over the years, Indo-Russian multifaceted cooperation has acquired greater depth and maturity through joint efforts.
"We seek to strengthen these ties further... I am confident that my visit will be yet another step forward in consolidating our cooperation with Russia and in reinforcing the fact that India-Russia strategic partnership is a factor of peace and stability in the evolving international situation," he said.
During the summit-level talks, tough anti-terrorism steps and measures to give a boost to sluggish bilateral trade ties will be high on the agenda. Singh and Medvedev will discuss the problem of terrorism emanating from Pakistan and Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister is expected to impress upon the Russian leadership to ask Pakistan to stop cross-border terrorism trageting India.
Besides the agreement relating to After Sales Support that entails supplies of spare parts, etc, to the defence equipment procured from Russia, the other two pacts to be inked relates to Military Technical Cooperation and a pact on Supplement to Agreement on Multi-Role Transport Aircraft.
Two MoUs relating to Indian credit line and culture will also be initialled. Singh and Medvedev will also discuss ways to tackle the challenge posed by global economic recession. Both the countries have been seeking reform of the international institutions like the World Bank and IMF. PTI
