By IANS,
New Delhi : India has assured Russia about its commitment to the Kudankulam atomic power project and discussed a host of strategic issues, including the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East and Iran.
During the foreign office consultations, the Indian side led by Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai and the Russian delegation led by First Deputy Foreign Minister I. Denisov discussed strategic sectors of cooperation such as nuclear energy, space and defence.
During the talks, Mathai is understood to have assured the Russian side about India’s commitment to expanding nuclear cooperation and allayed worries over an agitation by protesters against the Russia-assisted Kudankulam power plant.
The talks took place even as Manmohan Singh said in an interview that organisations based in the US and the Scandinavian nations were backing the months-long protests of villagers against the Russian-aided Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu.
The prime minister’s view was based on a home ministry probe into the background and funding of these NGOs, the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy said here Friday. He added that the government had received reports that these organisations were being funded by outfits in both the US and Scandinavian nations.
The two sides held detailed discussions on a host of regional and global issues including the situation in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Iran and other regions, the external affairs ministry said here Friday.
The Indian side briefed Russia about the forthcoming BRICS summit of the leaders of emerging economies, including India, China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa.