New Delhi, December 5 (ANI) — Russian chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin on Friday welcomed the warming ties between New Delhi and Moscow, calling India a “friendly country” and a key partner for future collaboration as Russian President Vladimir Putin began a two-day state visit.
“I hope our relationship will grow. We see a friendly country in India. We hope we’ll have a lot of projects here and maybe also in chess,” Karjakin said in Delhi.
Pointing to India’s rapid rise in chess, Karjakin praised the strength of both nations’ training systems. “We have two strong chess schools, both in Russia and in India. There are a lot of young grandmasters here in India,” he said.
He warned that India’s new generation — citing Gukesh, Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa — will make competition tougher for Russian players. “It will be difficult for Russia to keep this tension… One of them can be the next world champion, so it will actually be very difficult for Russian players,” Karjakin added. Despite that, he said he was pleased and congratulated India on producing strong new players.
Putin’s visit to New Delhi is his first in four years; he will remain in the city through December 5 and is scheduled to hold the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Observers say the trip is likely to deepen cooperation across defence, trade, science and technology, and cultural and humanitarian ties. Former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri highlighted defence cooperation, technology transfer and trade as key topics, noting recent joint projects such as Operation Sindoor, the BrahMos missile and the S-400 air defence system.
“President Putin has said that he’s willing to give the transfer of technology… These are very important aspects that our government will surely be looking at very carefully,” Sikri told ANI. She also emphasized the importance of expanding bilateral trade and India’s need to increase exports to Russia.
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