Monday, January 31 2005 16:58 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India, Russia and China are likely to interact increasingly in a variety of ways in the coming years, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh said today (Jan 31, 2005).

Observing that Central Asia has always been integral to the East-West relationship, he said both New Delhi and Moscow were conscious that this region's vitality was set to grow in the years ahead.

"As Central Asia's energy resources are developed and new transportations links laid out, we should be able to interact and cooperate even more.

"If we include China in this geographical picture, then we get a more holistic view. Russia, China and India are, therefore, likely to interact increasingly in a variety of ways," Singh said delivering the keynote address at a seminar on "India and Russia in the 21st Century" organised by Observer Research Foundation.

The Minister said the three countries have already started a process of meeting at the Foreign Ministers level and referred to his meeting with his Russian and Chinese counterparts on October 21 last year.

"Our discussions were wide-ranging and marked by a desire to move ahead. I proposed at that meeting that the time had come to consider economic cooperation at the trilateral level," he said, adding that the forthcoming meeting of businessmen of the three countries would provide a practical dimension to the intentions.

On areas of common concern affecting both countries, Singh said India and Russia have both been victims of terror for a long time and believed that a truly global effort was required to eliminate this scourge.

"We are equally convinced that there cannot be double standards in confronting this menace," he said.

Deputy Chief of the Russian Mission in New Delhi, Nikolay R Kudashev said Moscow wanted New Delhi to become a permanent member of the U N Security Council with veto power.

"Our special attitude to India is clearly illustrated by the fact that during his last visit to India, President Vladimir Putin backed up once again India's candidacy for the seat of a permanent member of the U N Security Council enjoying veto power," Kudashev, who addressed the seminar on behalf of Russian envoy Vyacheslav Trubnikov, said.

On Russia-India-China cooperation, he said dynamically developing interaction in the trilateral format was an essential element of cooperation.

Kudashev said the compatibility of the three nations' strategic priorities paved the way for their effective partnership on the international scene, promoting the establishment of true multi-polarity in the modern world.

The list of subjects for discussion during forthcoming meetings of Foreign Ministers of the three countries should also include combating international terrorism, establishing a multi-polar world order, non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and means of their delivery, prospects of trilateral economic cooperation and areas of their possible interaction with the G-8, he said.