NEW DELHI -- On the heels of a marked pro-U.S. shift in its foreign policy, India is now welcoming the president of its old friend, Russia. The focus of President Vladimir Putin's four-day visit is on reviving Russia's sagging ties with India.
Before Putin was abruptly handed the reins of power by the ailing Boris Yeltsin, he had useful talks in New Delhi during a brief stopover a year ago as premier. Now he is an elected president determined to reverse Russia's decline. This week's visit appears to be part of Putin's larger plan to build closer ties with the major Asian states, particularly China, India and Japan.
Of these powers, however, India is the only one that has no serious bilateral problems with Moscow. Behind its newfound "strategic partnership" with Beijing, Russia nurses deep misgivings over China's ambitions. Russia and China have resolved most of the dispute over their 4,300-km border, but the agreement was made possible by a rudderless Russia under Yeltsin making more than four-fifths of the territorial concessions. Despite the two countries' desire to counterbalance the United States and work toward a multipolar world, a genuine Sino-Russian partnership still looks distant.