The Russian parliamentary speaker said strategic partnership between Russia and India rested on close geopolitical positions

Tuesday, June 18, 2019

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Boris Gryzlov, the Chairman of the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, said at a meeting with Indian President Abdul Kalam on Monday that bilateral strategic partnership was developing briskly. The Indian leader arrived in Moscow yesterday. Three-party cooperation, i.e. that between Russia, India, and China, will be central at the president's Moscow meetings. The three countries' foreign ministers are expected to hold a meeting in Vladivostok, Russia's Far East, on June 2. Gryzlov pointed to the dynamism of trade and business relations with India. In 2004, bilateral commodity turnover increased 1.5-fold compared to the previous year, reaching $4.1 billion. "We also appreciate cooperation in the anti-terrorism sphere with India," said Gryzlov. Gryzlov offered condolences over two recent bomb attacks on movie theaters in New Delhi. Gryzlov recalled Moscow would hold a series of events as part of the Indian Culture Days in September. "We often watch Indian movies. They make us feel nostalgic for our relations in the past," he said. President Kalam, for his part, praised the Russian people's role in World War II. A country is great when its people are great, said Kalam. WWII showed the Soviet Union, and now Russia, played one of the most crucial roles in the world, said the Indian president.