NEW DELHI, December 12. /TASS/. The fact of the conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his American counterpart Joe Biden is good news, since the high-level contacts can contribute to settling issues of international security, renowned Indian diplomat, Chairperson of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee (the first Indian to hold this post) and former Ambassador to Russia from 2011 to 2013, Ajai Malhotra told TASS on Sunday.
"Russia-USA relations have perhaps never been as bad as at present. The recent Putin-Biden virtual summit did not lead to a breakthrough, nor was one expected. Despite there being no tangible results, it is good that the Putin-Biden conversation took place. High level engagement can be useful, as issue-based cooperation between USA and Russia could enable better handling of some contemporary security concerns," Ajai Malhotra said.
He recalled that on December 6, the short but productive 21st India-Russia Annual Summit took place with the participation of [Russian President] Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi which has been a positive signal about bilateral ties.
"The Summit could well have been held in a virtual format, given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but sharing assessments and confidentialities on sensitive issues requires real life, face-to-face interaction," he noted adding that Putin’s visit to India showed that "the India-Russia special and privileged strategic partnership continues to be pragmatically nurtured."
Responding to a question of how he could comment on the reports in the world media that India is turning away from Russia to the West and the United States, the diplomat pointed out that growing engagement between New Delhi and Washington is not "at the cost of its long-standing friendship with Russia." "There is no contradiction between the two, as India’s bilateral ties with Russia and USA are not a zero-sum game. India-Russia ties constitute a vital foreign policy and security building block for both our countries," Ajai Malhotra concluded.
On December 7, Putin and Biden held talks in a videoconference format, the conversation lasted two hours. The situation around Ukraine was the prevailing subject, the leaders also discussed bilateral relations, cybersecurity and the Iranian nuclear deal.