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'Putin keen on triangle'

By Vladimir Radyuhin

MOSCOW DEC. 8. The Russian President, Vladimir Putin, made progress in shaping a Moscow-Beijing-Delhi triangle during his visits to China and India last week, said the man who first aired the idea four years ago. The former Russian Prime Minister, Yevgeny Primakov, replied a firm "yes'' when asked during a TV interview on Saturday if Mr. Putin's trip had helped advance his pet idea of a triangle he had proposed on a visit to India in 1998.

Mr. Primakov, however, warned against seeing the Moscow-Beijing-Delhi axis as a military or political bloc.

``It is a geometric figure where ties between the poles should be strengthened.''

The political declarations the Russian President signed in China and India reflected the close identity of views the three nations hold on a range of international issues including terrorism, Iraq, West Asia, the role of the United Nations, non-proliferation and regional security. It is, in particular, the shared interest in maintaining security and stability in Central Asia and Afghanistan that may give flesh and blood to the idea of the Moscow-Beijing-Delhi triangle.

``When applied to the region, the triangle will no doubt work as a factor of stability,'' Mr. Primakov said.

Mr. Putin's proposal to join hands in Central Asia met with a ready response in Beijing and in New Delhi. Both nations share Russia's concerns over the continuing turmoil in Afghanistan despite the year-long U.S. anti-terror operation.

In the run-up to Mr. Putin's Asian tour, a senior Russian diplomat warned about a possible comeback of the Taliban if the security situation in Afghanistan deteriorated further.

Moscow fears that instability in Afghanistan could spill over to the new Central Asian states, which are ripped as they are by ethnic, religious and social tensions.

A day before Mr. Putin embarked on his Asian tour, Russia began deploying warplanes in Kyrgyzstan under a collective security arrangement with its Central Asian allies.

While the documents Mr. Putin signed in Beijing and New Delhi give no hint at trilateral action in Central Asia, a platform for such interaction will appear when India joins the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), which unites Russia, China and four Central Asian states.

New Delhi has indicated strong interest in accessing SCO and the question of speeding up its entry must have been discussed by Mr. Putin in Beijing.

The emerging tie-up between Moscow, Beijing and New Delhi in Central Asia should not be seen as directed against the U.S., which has deployed its forces in the region for the anti-terror campaign in Afghanistan, defence sources here said.

Washington is reported to be losing interest in Afghanistan as it focuses on Iraq and is willing to let neighbourhood nations take responsibility for security in Central Asia.

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