Russia asks India to keep in mind old ties, help from Soviets in 1971

Maintaining that India has the right to pursue its own interests, Russia's Consul General said Moscow will "appreciate" if India keeps certain facets of the Indo-Russian ties in mind

A high-ranking Russian official on Wednesday said India must keep in mind the old ties and the help Russia has rendered in the past.

The comments have come against the backdrop of a senior US official visiting the country to discuss various issues.

Maintaining that India has the right to pursue its own interests, Russia's Consul General in the financial capital Aleksei Surovtsev said Moscow will "appreciate" if India keeps certain facets of the Indo-Russian ties in mind.

India should keep in mind the "great long-term friendly relationship" that dates back to even before the country's independence in 1947, Surovtsev told PTI on the sidelines of an event here.

"Apart from that we definitely know great examples of this friendship such as 1971 when Soviet vessels were kind of behind backs of Indian army and fleet in the Bay of Bengal. So, this is definitely what we are hugely appreciating right now that India keeps this in mind," he added.

Surovtsev was replying to a specific question on the ongoing visit of US Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E Nelson.

According to the US Department of Treasury, enforcement of sanctions is among the prime agenda for Nelson, along with other matters like combating illicit finance, anti-money laundering issues.

Surovtsev was speaking on the sidelines of a trade show organized ahead of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPEIF) to be held in June 2024.

SPIEF's director Alexey Valkov said that the forum, which is billed as a counter to the World Economic Forum in Davos, is willing to keep delegate identity confidential if such a request is made by a delegate.

The organizers are expecting more than 19,000 delegates to come for the forum, which has completed 25 years, Valkov said, adding that there is a dedicated day for Indian businesses at the multi-day event.

When asked for the key theme for the SPIEF, he said the forum has an open attitude to anybody who wants to do business for mutual benefit.

Meanwhile, Valkov said a slew of Indian companies are looking at the Russian market and without naming any specific instance, also said that they are looking at taking over assets abandoned by American and European companies who left Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.