by Sarwar Kashani/IANS

Moscow, Dec 8: Visiting India Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Monday sealed a "broad based" agreement that will boost bilateral cooperation between the countries in the peaceful use of atomic energy. The nuclear deal, signed after the two leaders held talks in the Kremlin, will significantly broaden Russian atomic fuel exports to India.

The deal between the two Cold War allies underscores the significance of their strategic ties, which were further cemented with three military pacts and two more agreements on enhancing trade and cultural exchange between the two nations.

"It is a broad based nuclear deal. It provides for upfront consent for reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and also includes that the termination will be without any prejudice to ongoing contracts and fuel obligation," the official told IANS.

Though the broad contours of the expanded deal on peaceful usage of nuclear energy were not known, informed sources said it would be worth "multi-billion dollars".

"We have signed an agreement which broadens the reach of our cooperation beyond the supply of nuclear reactors to areas of research and development and in a whole range of areas of nuclear energy," Manmohan Singh told reporters in the imposing Malachite Hall of the Kremlin, a historic fortified complex in the heart of Moscow that houses the Russian government.

The deal will involve construction of four more nuclear reactors in Koodankulam, in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where Russia is already building an atomic power station, Manmohan Singh said.

"In a symbol of expanding India-Russia cooperation in nuclear energy four more new units will come up there, in addition, we have identified an additional site in West Bengal," the prime minister said.

"The conclusion of negotiations on the peaceful uses of atomic energy is a major step forward in strengthening our existing cooperation in this field," he said.

Medvedev expressed similar views in the joint press conference addressed by the two leaders. "We don't want to increase the nuclear member club but are interested in civilian atomic cooperation," he said as an interpreter translated his address in Russian.

"We have a good experience of cooperation in Koodankulam and are thinking about joint work on another site."

The deal, Medvedev said, paves the way for continuation of cooperation in the nuclear field "for years to come".

The deal is said to be significant as it will give New Delhi the right to reprocess spent fuel, taking the pact "far beyond the 123 agreement" inked with the US, according to an Indian official.

The pact has a "forward looking language" on nuclear reprocessing rights for India and the nuclear fuel supply won't be stopped if bilateral cooperation breaks up in future," the official said.

Manmohan Singh, who ends a three-day visit to Moscow Tuesday, said the partnership between the countries was independent and "not influenced by our relations with any other country".

"India accords the highest priority to its relations with Russia. This is a relationship that stands on its own footing," he said.

The two sides also signed three key defence pacts including the one on multi-role transport aircraft. They also agreed on a 10-year (2011-2020) deal on weapons, aircraft and maintenance contract potentially worth at least $5 billion. All defence deals between the two countries will come under the 10-year agreement.

The pact would include a $1 billion deal for 80 Russian Mi-17 helicopters and contracts for fitting Brahmos missiles into Sukhoi fighter plans, the sources said.

It also includes building a modern supersonic fighter aircraft visible to radars like the US F-22 Raptor Stealth fighter. The third pact covers after-sales product support for defence equipment of Russian origin.

During their one-on-one talks Monday morning and a dinner meet Sunday, the two leaders discussed regional and global issues, including climate, economic crisis, terrorism and the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

"Our views are similar on global issues and our cooperation can extend to cooperation at the international level," Manmohan Singh said. "We will be sharing intelligence and information gathering," he added.

Medvedev expressed concern over the "grave challenge of terrorism" and said he held discussion "in great detail" with the prime minister on global security and terrorism.

"We discussed Afghanistan and its interlinkage with Pakistan. We need to consolidate nationhood in Afghanistan after the recent elections," he said.

The Russian leader said: "There is a common threat that India and Russia face. We should consolidate our anti-terror base. We will provide concrete help in anti-terror activities." He added: "The situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan underlines the importance of this... Terrorism is the biggest evil of the current and last century."

Russian atomic energy chief Sergei Kiriyenko and India's Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Srikumar Banerjee signed the document in the presence of the media and delegates of the two countries.