The Summit was part of Russia’s ongoing initiatives to play a greater role in stabilising the region before the expected withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.

India and Russia should look at a hi-tech partnership for the 21st century in new areas of the civilian economy.

Russia is one country that India cannot afford to sideline, as it is the only trusted partner with whom India has mutual compatibility and a close political, military and economic partnership for decades.

The Skolkova initiative is part of Russia’s attempt to develop a robust national innovation system and a knowledge based economy.

The importance of the RIC trilateral initiative lies in the fact that India, Russia and China, as countries with growing international influence, can make substantive contributions to global peace, security and stability.

The outcome of the deliberations at the September 1 Extraordinary European Council meeting held to discuss the Russian-Georgian conflict was not very dramatic. Gordon Brown penned a scathing article in The Observer and attempted to set a high pitch for the meeting by presenting the conflict as ‘naked aggression’ by Russia and advocating that the EU review ‘root and branch’ its relationship with Russia.

The recent meeting of the Indo-Russian Business Co-operation Council and the Trade and Investment Forum in New Delhi was significant, in that it took place after the recent summit-level talks between the two countries. This symbolises the fact that both countries assign considerable value to increasing bilateral trade and economic co-operation.