|
Even as the two sides work towards clinching
crucial deals, Russia is preparing to hand over
the first of two Akula-II nuclear-powered submarines
to the Indian Navy on a 10-year lease that will
cost this country close to $1 billion.
Among the agreements likely during the visit
are those in the energy, defence and trade sectors,
even as the two sides are inching closer to signing
a deal on the controversial Koodankulam nuclear
plant's third and fourth phases, Russian Ambassador
to India Alexander Kadakin told reporters here
Dec 7.
"This time it is business...official visit...it
will be energy sector, military field, and economic
sector" Kadakin said when asked about the
areas in which the agreements would be signed.
Among the agreements likely is one on Blocks
III and IV at the Koodankulam nuclear plant in
southern Tamil Nadu, which is witnessing protests
by local villagers over the safety of the project
following the Fukushima disaster in Japan earlier
this year.
"Talks are in progress and at a very active
stage about Units III and IV (of Koondankulam)
Let us expect they complete it," Kadakin
said in reply to a question.
Kadakin said Russia has proposed to expand the
existing Koodankulam plant and have blocks III
and IV in the near future, and to go even further
for blocks V and VI, and in some distant future
blocks VII and VIII too, provided there was enough
space at the nuclear plant site.
On reports of the Haripur nuclear plant in West
Bengal using Russian reactors, Kadakin said it
was not a concrete proposal and just a name that
came up for discussion.
He said the Indian government had agreed to suggesting
an alternative site instead of Haripur in view
of a fishermen's movement against the nuclear
plant there, but in the one year since, no new
site had been proposed, though sites in Odisha
and Andhra Pradesh had come up during discussions.
"We are ready to build. Where it will be
convenient, it is India's choice not Russia's
choice," he said.
Asked about the nuclear-powered submarine that
Russia is leasing to India, Kadakin said: "It
is in the pipeline. It is coming." However,
he refused to set a date for handing over the
vessel, to be christened INS Chakra, to the Indian
Navy.
He said that after 10 years of "strategic"
ties, the two countries had redefined their relations
as a "special and privileged" diplomatic
partnership. He said Russia will be with India
"rain or shine".
Referring to the last year's visit of Russian
President Dmitry Medvedev to India when "an
unprecedented" 33 agreements were signed,
he said during this visit, though the number of
agreements will be less, the quality of the pacts
would be far greater.
"Last year was an unprecedented year. During
the summit meeting between Medvedev and Singh,
33 agreements were signed and three were signed
behind the curtain. 2010 was unprecedented. India
was only country that both the Russian president
and the prime minister visited in one year. It
is Himalayan relations," he said.
To a query on the Indian nuclear liability laws
and its implications for Russian projects here,
Kadakin said the new rules were yet to be finalised,
but still they would not be applicable to Koondankulam
I and II as the agreements were signed in the
late 1980s and 1990s, when the laws did not exist.
"Russia expects that the same agreements
and rules will apply if we go for Koodankulam's
units III and IV," he added.
On the Nuclear Suppliers Group's 2008 waiver
to India and its recent decision on curtailing
transfer of enrichment and reprocessing technologies,
Kadakin said Russia would follow all bilateral
agreements in the field of nuclear energy with
India and at the same time comply with international
non-proliferation rules.
"We expect that our nuclear cooperation,
in spite of all odds and all your internal problems,
will continue and we are ready to assist India
in this. We have the roadmap that Russian Prime
Minister Vladimir Putin signed last March, under
which 14 to 16 power blocks with 1 gigabytes are
planned. We are implementing this roadmap. Nuclear
energy and cooperation in energy sector will be
the major guideline of the forthcoming visit,"
he added.
In the sphere of defence, the two sides are expected
to sign further agreements on joint development
of the fifth generation fighter aircraft and multirole
transport aircraft, apart from discussing the
progress of the BrahMos missile programme.
(IANS)
|
