NEW DELHI, Dec 9: Russian Foreign Minister Yevgeny Primakov has said that President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to New Delhi and Beijing had helped push forward his quest for a Russia- China-India triad, but clarified that such a cooperation would not be aimed against the United States, The Hindu reported on Monday.

The Hindu, reporting from Moscow, said Primakov replied a firm “yes” when asked during a TV interview on Saturday if Putin’s trip had helped advance his pet idea of a triangle he had proposed on a visit to India in 1998.

Primakov, however, cautioned 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, The Hindu said.

“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,” The Hindu’s Russian correspondent said.

“When applied to the region, the triangle will no doubt work as a factor of stability,” Primakov said.

The Hindu said 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 US 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 Putin embarked on his Asian tour, Russia began deploying warplanes in Kyrgyzstan under a collective security arrangement with its Central Asian allies, The Hindu said

While the documents 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, the report said.—J.N.