Moscow: President Dmitry Medvedev's maiden India visit comes at a time when bilateral ties appear to have lost the bonhomie witnessed during the Soviet-era, with Russia failing to meet its defence contractual obligations on time, especially in the case of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier.
In an unprecedented move ahead of Medvedev's three-day India visit beginning tomorrow, neither the Indian embassy nor Russian Foreign Office did any briefing for the Moscow-based Indian media, indicating the gravity of the situation.
The defence cooperation has always been the cornerstone of bilateral relations, but in the recent years it has also suffered a major setback due to Russia failing to meet its contractual obligations on time, particularly in the case of Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier.
India had already paid USD 1.5 billion to Russia for Gorshkov, but Moscow is reportedly asking for USD 2 billion more.
Uncertainty looms over another high-profile joint project for the development of multi-role transport aircraft (MTA) for use by the armed forces, which has been under consideration since 1998.
In spite of regular annual summits and highest-level interactions on the fringes of the international fora, the bilateral relations are stagnant.
