SOURCE: TIMES NOW
Defence minister Rajnath Singh is likely to visit Russia next month to participate in a three-day meeting but there will be no bilaterals with Chinese and Pakistani leaders who will be present.
Rajnath Singh will be present along with leaders of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO) and Commonwealth of Independent States(CIS), which roughly, were the countries the Soviet Union broke up into in 1991. The Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO)– five countries that were part of the Soviet Union plus Russia and also, Serbia and Afghanistan–have been invited.
China and Pakistan will also be part of the three-day meeting, as they are members of the SCO. The meeting is part of the functions relating to the 75th anniversary of the defeat of Nazi Germany in the Second World War. The Russians refer to the Second World War as the Great Patriotic War.
While the defence minister will be in the same function as his Chinese and Pakistani counterparts, there will be no bilateral meeting with either of them. This is keeping in mind the situation in Ladakh and on the line of control.
Rajnath Singh is going at the invitation of the Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu. This is Rajnath Singh’s second visit to Russia in recent months. He was present at the much-delayed (because of Covid) May Day parade where Indian troops took part. Russia remembers the sacrifice of Indian soldiers in the victory over Nazi Germany, particularly in North Africa and Italy.
Russia fought the Nazis from 1941 and despite early setbacks, reached Berlin in May 1945. About 25 million Soviet citizens, whether soldiers or civilians, perished in the fighting. More Nazi soldiers died on the Russian front than anywhere else.
