Despite pressure india consciously decided to deepen relations with russia says rajnath

Despite pressure india consciously decided to deepen relations with russia says rajnath

Rajnath Singh, who is in Moscow for a military cooperation meeting, meets Putin; his visit coincides with overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad who has reached Russia; cooperation agreement for 2021-31 will give an impetus to ‘Make in India’, says Russian Defence Minister.

Despite geopolitical challenges and great pressure both in public and in private, India has made a conscious decision to not only continue its close engagement with Russia but also deepen and expand the cooperation, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said in Moscow on Tuesday, before meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

“We will always be with our Russian colleagues,” Mr. Singh said at the 21st India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), which he co-chaired with his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov in Moscow.

Mr. Belousov said that operationalisation of the India-Russia military technical cooperation agreement for 2021-31 will give necessary impetus to the “Make in India” drive. “At the end, the two Ministers signed the protocol of the 21st IRIGC-M&MTC meeting, highlighting the ongoing and prospective areas of cooperation,” a Defence Ministry statement said.

Meeting with Putin

After the meeting, Mr. Singh met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin for almost an hour, Defence Ministry sources said.

Mr. Putin is scheduled to visit India early next year for the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi for which the dates are being finalised, officials said.

Mr. Modi visited Russia in July for the annual summit, after a gap of almost five years. The two leaders also held talks on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan in October.

The Indian Defence Minister’s visit happened to coincide with the overthrow of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, with Russian media reports suggesting that he has been granted asylum by Russia and has landed in the country with his family.

Commenting on the “productive” IRIGC-M&MTC meeting in a social media post, Mr. Singh said: “Reviewing the full range of bilateral defence ties, we discussed ways to deepen cooperation between both the countries. We are committed to further strengthen India-Russia Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”

He emphasised that the India-Russia relationship is very strong, and has lived up to the responsibilities of a special and privileged strategic partnership.

The defence minister said that India was determined to extend the capabilities of its domestic defence industry across domains and industrial collaboration.

He stressed on new opportunities for enhancing the participation of Russian industries in “Make in India” projects.

However, several major deals — including deliveries of the S-400 long range air defence systems and the Krivak class stealth frigates, as well as supplies of spares and components — have seen significant delays since the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine in February 2022.

Defence deals

The INS Tushil that was commissioned at Kaliningrad on Monday is the first of two stealth frigates under construction for the Indian Navy in Russia. The INS Tamal, the second frigate expected to be delivered to India early next year, will likely be the last warship (not submarine) that Russia will construct for India; all warships are now manufactured domestically.

A nuclear attack submarine (SSN), Chakra-III, leased by India and now under construction could also well be the last submarine that India imports from Russia, given its current modernisation plan.