Global Insights: Russian-Indian Strategic Partnership Faces New Challenges

The current annual summit between the governments of India and Russia, scheduled to last from Dec. 6-8, testifies to the continuing shared interests between both countries. Russian and Indian policymakers still pursue many common objectives while having few divergent ones. Yet, ongoing improvements in India's relations with Western countries, especially the United States, present challenges to Russian policymakers as they strive to maintain Russia's position as India's most important strategic partner.

A few days before arriving in Moscow, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a lengthy interview with Russian media outlets in which he lavished praise on Russia. Calling their bilateral relationship "an enduring friendship that has stood the test of time," Singh said that the two countries shared common interests, values, and approaches toward many international issues because they were both "large pluralistic democracies undergoing rapid economic transformation." Singh reassured his Russian audience that, despite India's growing ties with new partners, Indians "are . . . clear that our growing engagement with the rest of the world cannot be at the cost of our time-tested ties with Russia." ...