India to attend SCO meeting in Moscow today

October 15th, 2009 MOSCOW - Defence Minister A K Antony has said that over the years defence relations between India and Russia have evolved from a simple buyer-seller relationship to a broadbased partnership where both countries are involved in joint design, development and production of defence equipment. Antony said this at the 9th Meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC), which began here on Wednesday.

September 17th, 2009 Vatican sees end to tensions with Russian OrthodoxVATICAN CITY — Relations with the Russian Orthodox church have vastly improved, possibly paving the way for a papal visit to Moscow or a historic meeting between the pope and the Orthodox patriarch outside of Russia or the Vatican, a senior Vatican cardinal said Thursday. Cardinal Walter Kasper told Vatican Radio "we have overcome all the tensions in recent years." He spoke after meeting with Archbishop Hilarion, head of external relations for the Moscow patriarch's office.

September 4th, 2009 MOSCOW - President Pratibha Devisingh Patil's meeting with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Friday focused on the issue of terrorism and strengthening of economic relations between the two countries. Patil, who is on a five-day visit to the country, discussed bilateral issues with Putin.

September 4th, 2009 MOSCOW - Many events were organised to celebrate 'Year of India' at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on Thursday. A concert 'Sahasra Patra' (a lotus of thousand petals) was held at the theatre that coincided with the visit of Indian President Pratibha Patil.

July 7th, 2009 Official: Obama, Putin established 'good relation'MOSCOW — A White House official says President Barack Obama and Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin "formed the basis of a good relation" during a two-hour meeting at Putin's residence outside Moscow. Before heading to Russia last week, Obama told the Associated Press in an interview that Putin "has one foot in the old ways of doing business and one foot in the new." But after meeting the Russian leader, a senior administration official described Obama's reaction this way: "I would say he's very convinced that the prime minister is a man of today and he's got his eyes firmly on the future." The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to discuss the private details of the meeting, said Obama and Putin shared concerns about terrorism and nuclear proliferation.

July 7th, 2009 Obama has busy schedule in Moscow on TuesdayMOSCOW — President Barack Obama's busy Tuesday in Russia includes a session with the man some say is the still the real power in Moscow. Obama and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will have a working breakfast at Putin's dacha.

June 16th, 2009 MOSCOW - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Russia for a summit Tuesday despite protests over alleged election fraud in the Islamic republic's presidential polls last week. Ahmadinejad will attend a summit meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Yekaterinburg, central Russia, and later meet with journalists, Russia's Itar-Tass and Interfax news agencies said.

May 10th, 2009 Report: gas pipeline explosion in MoscowMOSCOW — Russian news agencies are reporting a giant explosion and fire at a gas pipeline near a gasoline filling station in southeast Moscow. Interfax cited Russia's Interior Ministry as saying that at least three people are being treated for burns.

March 26th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India will press for a multilateral approach to peace and stability in Afghanistan and voice its opposition to involving a section of the Taliban in any power-sharing arrangement at a regional security conference in Moscow Friday. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Special Envoy Satinder Lambah will represent India at the conference organised by the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow that will focus on exploring different ways to promote stability in that country.

March 19th, 2009 NEW DELHI - In a sign of its growing stakes in stabilising the violence-torn country, India will join other regional and global players in two important international conferences on Afghanistan in Moscow and the Hague that will be held later this month. The Prime Minister's Special Envoy on Pakistan Satinder Lambah is likely to represent India at a regional security conference organized by the six-nation Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Moscow March 27 that will focus on promoting stability in that country.

February 15th, 2009 MOSCOW - Heavy snowfall in Moscow and in the surrounding areas caused more than 6,000 traffic accidents over the weekend that resulted in 24 deaths, the police said Monday. According to Moscow's traffic police department, a total of 4,200 car accidents were registered Saturday and Sunday in the capital, in which four people were killed and 78 injured.

January 21st, 2009 MOSCOW - US President Barack Obama could pay a visit to Moscow in April, a Russian business daily said Thursday. Obama was sworn in Tuesday as the 44th president of the US.

January 15th, 2009 MOSCOW - European leaders must attend a crisis summit in Moscow this weekend because bilateral talks will no longer suffice to defuse a Russian-Ukrainian conflict over gas transits, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Friday. 'Unfortunately, this issue has gotten beyond bilateral relation,' the Interfax news agency quoted Medvedev as saying.

January 4th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia has called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip following Israel's ground offensive that started late Saturday, Russian media reported Sunday. Moscow was seriously concerned about the situation, President Dmitry Medvedev told Israel's caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on the telephone Sunday, according to the Itar-Tass news agency said.

December 22nd, 2008 MOSCOW - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Monday ensured Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Russia's continued support for the Palestinians in the Middle East. The number of problems has definitely not grown less,' said Medvedev as he received Abbas for an official meeting at the Kremlin, reported the Interfax news service.