The Importance of Russia and US for India

New Delhi knows well that in international relations, there are no permanent friends or foes, only permanent national interests, points out Rup Narayan Das.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting Russia on July 8th and 9th to participate in the 22nd India-Russia summit in Moscow.

The summit has strategic significance on many counts.

Prime Minister Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin are meeting for the first time after their electoral victories and consolidation of power in their respective countries giving stability and continuity of bilateral relations.

This is Modi's first visit abroad after becoming prime minister of the country for the third time.

This is suggestive of the strategic importance that India attaches to Russia.

The meeting is taking place on the heels of the meeting between External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the margins of the SCO meeting in Astana last week, where they discussed a plethora of issues including the ensuing summit between Modi and Putin.

The visit is an occasion to ruminate India's triangular strategic engagement with both Russia and the USA and how they intercede with each other.