Russia and India get nuclear-cozy, celebrate Democratic administration

“Now we need to create a multi-polar world, politically and economically,” Medvedev believes.

“I can’t see how the most important world economic issues could be currently solved without Russia or India. In this sense, it’s highly important to intensify our interaction within BRIC – the union of the four most dynamic developing world economies”.

This is President Medvedev's second visit to a BRIC state in as many weeks, and a sign that developing economies may well become the driving force of global finance.

The agenda of this strategic visit also includes the strengthening of nuclear cooperation between Moscow and Delhi. According to the chief of Russia’s state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, Sergey Kirienko, some agreements are ready to be signed on Friday.

“We’ve named them the Agreement on the four blocks of Kudam-Ulam and other platforms. Also, this agreement allows us to cooperate in the areas of mechanical engineering, nuclear fuel cycle, uranium, atomic medicine, isotopes – without any limitations. We have once again confirmed that Russia and India are strategic partners in the nuclear power industry”.

Military ties are also a priority, and despite setbacks caused by price disputes, Russia continues to be India's main military supplier.

Russia Today

Nukes continue to proliferate in unstable regions. The end of the cold war at least kept the Russians internally focused; now they're looking to build partnerships that will make that empire a superpower.

Question: What are your expectations from the new U.S. President Barack Obama?

D. Medvedev: Let the U.S. president-elect get down to his job. Until that happens, it would be guess-work to predict how he will build his work, what achievements will be made and whether they will be able to overcome the financial crisis and resolve a number of critical situations that concern primarily the United States, such as Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

But, anyway, we expect that the new U.S. administration and the new president of the United States will take a constructive and reasonable approach and demonstrate the will to search for a compromise on the most difficult topics. What we’ve recently heard from Washington makes me feel cautiously optimistic. But, it’s not only words but also deeds that matter in politics. Therefore, we are waiting for the new U.S. administration to be shaped and we wish success to this new administration. I wish personal success to the new president of the United States. All the rest remains to be seen.

Question: Are we heading for a different version of a Cold War?

D. Medvedev: I don’t think that we are moving towards any new version of the “cold war”. Anyway, I wouldn’t like that at all. We really found ourselves in a situation when we heard several tough statements from our partners. They were talking about some restrictive measures, but, in my view, all those discussions didn’t lead them anywhere, in the first place, and they simply couldn’t have because attempts to isolate someone, especially a country like Russia, are doomed to absolute failure. But if it’s so, all talk about any kind of a new war looming or a curtain falling is senseless and unproductive.

Moreover, I would say that there are no ideological grounds for this confrontation. In the past years there were at least ideological reasons, such as the existence of the two worlds and the two systems which competed against each other. Today, we have the same values and our task is to seek a common understanding of these values. And that’s the most complicated task!

Russia Today

Same values? Oh, democracy. But the goal is still the same: superpower status and theater hegemony, isn't it? And economic dominance?

He seems grateful for Obama. A president who isn't going to "isolate" Russia, and force them to limit their power as a result, allows Russia a new path to the power it seeks.