http://asia.nikkei.com/July 12, 2015 7:00 am JST
TAKAYUKI TANAKA, Nikkei staff writer
MOSCOW -- While President Vladimir Putin is starting to put a little distance between Russia and China, he is also cozying up to India.
The change of course reflects not only stagnant progress in Russo-Sino projects, such as the construction of two natural gas pipelines to China, but also Russian wariness of China's advance into Central Asia.
At a summit of BRICS nations -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- that began Wednesday in the Russian city of Ufa, Putin appeared to prioritize India over China.
As the host of the summit, Putin shook hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping and smiled before photographers ahead of their meeting.
But the 50-minute powwow was less friendly than previous get-togethers; the mood even grew foul from time to time, according to a person familiar with the session.
Unlike past summits that produced agreements on major projects, this time Putin and Xi merely confirmed principles, such as the promotion of bilateral trade.
In contrast, Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi talked for an hour and a half, longer than scheduled. The two agreed to cooperate in nuclear power plant construction and defense technology.
Putin was even playful, saying he would like to try yoga, which originated in India and is something Modi practices.
With Russia being economically sanctioned by the U.S. and Europe due to the Ukrainian crisis, Putin has held a series of meetings with Xi to emphasize the closeness of their two countries' relations.
His delicate turn from this course is traceable to energy. Putin would have liked China to move more quickly toward Russo-Sino cooperation in this field.
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