St Petersburg: As Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee described Russia as "a good friend of India," Russian President Vladimir Putin said not only the economic cooperation but also partnership in military- technical and space exploration areas are "actively developing."

During a bilateral meeting with Putin on the deck of a the luxury liner 'Silver Whisper' on May 30 night, where the Prime Minister joined other world leaders in celebrating the tercentenary celebrations of the former Russian imperial city, Vajpayee said "Russia is a good friend of India and we pin hopes on Russia."

Thanking Vajpayee for accepting his invitation to attend the 300th anniversary celebrations of St Petersburg, Putin said "This only confirms the high level of relations, which has been attained between Russia and India," according to Presidential Press Service.

"We are cooperating in 'most sensitive' areas, leave alone the economic cooperation. Our military- technical cooperation, our partnership in space exploration is actively developing," Putin was quoted as telling Vajpayee.

Putin highly assessed the recent Indo-Russian joint naval war games in the Arabian Sea off the Indian coast.

"Just now, our seamen conducted joint exercises, for the first time in history. They went off at very high level," Putin noted with satisfaction.

The ten-decked ship also provided the venue for Vajpayee's meeting with French President Jacques Chirac.

PTI