At a time when New Delhi is veering towards the U.S. and Europe, President Pranab Mukherjee’s five-day visit to Russia to attend the >Russian Victory Day parade (May 5) is a welcome balancing act which will send out the signal that India still cares for lasting friendship with its long-time ally, Russia, especially when most Western powers have boycotted it in protest against its actions in Ukraine. Despite developments where India appears to be favouring an acquisition of western armaments, the fact is that Russia has still got a lot to offer in its expertise: in new energy sources such as magneto-hydro dynamics power generation — a technology that generates power without a turbine, cryogenics, optics and telemetry. One hopes that India rediscovers the potential of India-Russia relations.
A.V. Narayanan,
Tiruchi
