For the first time in the history of annual bilateral summits, India and Russia [Images] will not sign any comprehensive political declaration or statement after Monday's summit.
"However, there is a slim chance of a joint document being signed after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's [Images] talks with President Vladimir Putin [Images]," sources said in Moscow [Images].
For the first time in the history of six-decade long bilateral relations, an Indian prime minister is paying the shortest 28-hour visit, and cannot boast of a consensus across the board on New Delhi's foreign policy.
Failure of New Delhi's readiness to address Moscow's security concerns over the deployment of the elements of the US missile shield in Europe is seen as one of the reasons behind the failure of agreeing on a joint political document.
Under the Indo-Russian treaty of January 1993, the two sides had agreed to share each-others security concerns, and some quarters in Moscow see New Delhi's stand on US National Missile Shield aimed at neutralising Russia's second strike capability, as 'unwillingness' to be guided by the letter and spirit of the bilateral pacts and declaration of strategic partnership.
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