New Delhi [India], December 5 : Russian chess grandmaster Sergey Karjakin on Friday expressed confidence in the growing warmth between New Delhi and Moscow, calling India a "friendly country" and a key partner for future collaborations, as Russian President Vladimir Putin arrived in the country for a two-day state visit.
Speaking in Delhi, Karjakin said, "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, a chess grandmaster himself, also highlighted the impressive rise of India's chess talent and 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.
"It will be difficult for Russia to keep this tension... There is not only Gukesh. There are also Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa. One of them can be the next world champion, so it will actually be very difficult for Russian players," he added.
Despite the competitive challenge posed by India's new generation of chess players, Karjakin said he welcomed the rapid progress of Indian chess.
"But anyway, I'm only happy and can congratulate India for such strong new players," he said.
Vladimir Putin, on his first visit to India in four years, will be in New Delhi until December 5. During his visit, the Russian President will also hold the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit with PM Modi.
Experts have also weighed in on the significance of Putin's trip, which is expected to boost cooperation in defence, trade, science and technology, and culture and humanitarian affairs.
Former Indian diplomat Veena Sikri suggested that defence cooperation, technology, and trade would be major areas of discussion between the two countries.
"The three or four big areas of discussion would be about defence cooperation. We do know that in Operation Sindoor, the BrahMos missile, jointly developed by India and Russia, and the S-400 air defence system were really the stars of the show," she told ANI.
"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. In the trade area, I think that's also very significant, because India has to increase its exports to the Soviet Union... All this will be discussed in the context of trade..." she added.