India made ‘conscious decision’ to deepen ties with Russia – minister
The two countries’ defense ministers have held talks in Moscow on expanding military cooperation
Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh talked up ties with Moscow at a meeting with his Russian counterpart, Andrey Belousov, on Tuesday. The two sides met in the Russian capital to discuss ongoing defense and security cooperation, emphasizing the level of trust in the strategic partnership between the two nations.
Belousov noted that Russia and India share a strong, time-tested friendship based on mutual respect, with trust between the leadership of the two nations playing a key role in strengthening ties.
Singh echoed those sentiments, stating during the meeting that “despite the geopolitical challenges and immense public and private pressure on India, India has made a conscious decision to not only continue close contacts with Russia but also to deepen and expand our cooperation.”
“We will always stand together with our Russian colleagues,” he added. The Indian minister noted that cooperation between the two countries is successfully developing based on multilateral platforms, including the G20, BRICS, and SCO. “Our relations are in full swing,” Singh emphasized.
The defense ministers highlighted that the engagement between Moscow and New Delhi has deepened as a result of close contacts between the two countries’ leaders.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a bilateral summit in Moscow in July, and met during the BRICS leaders’ summit in the Russian city of Kazan in October. “We are committed to implementing all agreements reached at the highest level,” emphasized Belousov.
At the meeting of the Intergovernmental Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation on Tuesday, the high-level delegations discussed the issues of bilateral cooperation in defense and security, the Russian Defense Ministry said. Moscow remains New Delhi’s key defense partner and its largest weapons supplier, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The Russian leadership earlier emphasized Moscow’s readiness to participate in “India’s quest for self-sufficiency” in the defense and security field, which implies that future cooperation will focus more on joint research and development, and the co-development and joint production of advanced defense systems rather than exports of ready-made products.
On Monday, Singh presided over a commissioning ceremony for a new multi-role stealth guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, built by Russia for the Indian Navy. INS Tushil (which translates as ‘the protector shield’) is the seventh Project 1135.6 frigate to join the South Asian country’s naval forces. Six such frigates, all built at Russian shipyards in the past decade, are already in service in the Indian Navy.
Speaking at the event, the head of arms export agency Rosoboronexport, Aleksandr Mikheev, noted that Russia currently has around ten joint naval projects with India, with further initiatives in various stages of discussion.
