NEW DELHI, Oct 15: Russia has assured India it will not sell any arms to
Pakistan, a clarification delivered through the media ahead of
President Vladimir Putin`s visit to New Delhi in November, local reports
said on Monday.
`We are always cooperating with India to ensure
safety of the region. We never created trouble for India in the region
as compared to other countries. If someone says otherwise, spit in his
face,` The Hindu quoted Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin as
saying on Sunday.
`We don`t do military business with your
enemies. We don`t transfer any arms to them,` he told journalists after
arriving here on Sunday to co-chair the India-Russia Inter-governmental
Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural
Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) with India`s External Affairs Minister S.M.
Krishna.
It was a run-up to Mr. Putin`s first visit to South Asia
in his third term as Russian President. Separate Indian reports have
suggested that Mr Putin postponed a landmark October visit to Pakistan
at New Delhi`s behest.
`Mr Rogozin was clearing the air on
several high-level engagements with Pakistan in recent times, which has
led to talk about a reset in Russia-Pakistan ties,` The Hindu said.
While
Mr Putin cancelled his Islamabad visit last month, Russian Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov held con-sultations with the Pakistani
leadership.
Around the same time, Pakistan Army chief Gen Ashfaq Parvez Kayani visited Moscow, Indian reports recalled.
The
two countries appear to be in a bind over a nuclear plant in India`s
southern Kundankulam town. Russia does not want the civil nuclear
liability law to apply to the proposed units 3 and 4. India has not
applied the law to units 1 and 2.
The exemption is being
challenged in the Supreme Court. The first two were constructed under an
agreement that predated the 2010 civil liability law.
But India
is against exempting units 3 and 4 because this will be seen as
discriminating against companies from the US and France.
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