NEW DELHI, January 30. /TASS/. India and Russia these days are celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (signed on January 28, 1993), and there is no reason, why the two countries might abandon it, since this document still plays an important role in the "turbulent and volatile world," India’s political scientist, honorary researcher at the Observer Research Foundation expert center in New Delhi, Nandan Unnikrishnan, told TASS on Monday.
"The treaty reflects India's and Russia's understanding of bilateral relations. It still plays a big role in our time. In particular, it is clear that neither India nor Russia will do anything that might harm the partner's strategic interests. And this is very important in today's turbulent and volatile world," Unnikrishnan said.
He noted that the Treaty of 1993 still fully met the interests of New Delhi and Moscow. "I am a big cynic in international relations, because as a political scientist I understand that all countries proceed from their national interests, and everything can change. But I can say that today this agreement is in the interests of both India and Russia. And I see no reason for the two countries to abandon it in the foreseeable future," Unnikrishnan added.
The expert described the signing of this document as an important step, since it replaced the 1971 Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi. "The 1971 agreement expired because one of the signatories - the Soviet Union - had ceased to exist. The new document allowed us to continue the development of our relations," he stressed.
The political scientist recalled that in August 1971, the treaty between Moscow and New Delhi was signed amid tensions around India. Very soon, in December 1971, a third Indo-Pakistani war began. "The Soviet Union then supported India in various ways, including by signing such an agreement that provided for assistance in the field of defense. One can say that the reason why the United States and other countries did not intervene in this conflict at that time was Soviet support. Our memories of this are still fresh!" Unnikrishnan pointed out. "But in 1993 the treaty already had a different international background. This document is focused primarily on further development of relations in the economic, defense and other areas," the expert added.