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EVEN considering the central position of Indo-Soviet relations in the Government of India's external policies, the Prime Minister's visit to the Soviet Union from May 21 to 26 has attracted an unusual amount of interest. There was first a great deal of speculation on whether or not the Prime Minister would symbolically reaffirm the primacy of India's relations with the Soviet Union by undertaking a visit to that country before going to the United States. That speculation having been set at rest, the details of Rajiv Gandhi's Soviet trip have been minutely scrutinised for signs of any change, however subtle or incipient, in Indo-Soviet relations. Another group of analysts have, on the other hand, been in a great hurry to see in the outcome of the Prime Minister's visit evidence of a further strengthening of the close relations between the two countries. They have gone so far as to even assert that the prospects for Indo-Soviet ties opened up by Rajiv Gandhi's visit mark a reversal of the 'cooling off which they now allege had taken place in the later years of Indira Gandhi's rule.