India-Russia Ties & Relationships With Others ‘By Choice’

NEW DELHI: Has growing proximity between Russia and China and India’s greater engagement with the United States strained the India-Russia bilateral relationship? Both India and Russia might have special relationships with other partners but we can be sure about India and you can be sure about Russia that it’s a choice by us and by you; it’s not for anybody else to dictate these relationships, says Fyodor Lukyanov, Research Director, Valdai Discussion Club. Speaking to StratNews Global Editor-in-Chief Nitin A. Gokhale on ‘The Gist’, he said the view in Russia now is that it’s normal that any country tries to diversify its relationships. Andrey Bystritskiy, Chairman, Valdai Discussion Club, who was also part of the discussion, said Russia is paving the way to the future which doesn’t have to be unidirectional but can carry others along.