By Sarwar Kashani
Moscow, Dec 7 (IANS) India’s ties with other countries will “never be at the cost of time tested relationship with Russia”, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said here Monday.

Making the opening remarks after meeting President Dmitry Medvedev, Manmohan Singh said: “Our relations with third countries will never be at the cost of time tested relationship with Russia.”

He stressed that Indo-Russian relations have the potential to make an impact on key regional and global issues like economic revival, terrorism and climate change.

Medvedev said that the bilateral relationship had grown stronger and had positive impact on trade, which increased 8 percent this year.

He said it will go up further. “We are doing a good job.”

Manmohan Singh met Medvedev Monday to ink the expanded civil nuclear deal and three defence pacts.

The umbrella agreement for expanding civil nuclear cooperation will give New Delhi the right to reprocess spent fuel, taking the pact “far beyond the 123 agreement” inked with the US, official sources said Sunday.