India and Russia sign trade and arms deals during Putin’s visit to New Delhi
Russia and India signed a series of arms and trade agreements during President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, including one in which India will produce more than 600,000 Kalashnikov assault rifles.
Putin traveled to India with Russia’s defense and foreign ministers on a visit that saw the two countries strengthen their ties with a military and technical cooperation pact until 2031 and a commitment to boost annual trade to $ 30 billion for 2025.
The Russian president is visiting India amid increasingly tense relations between Russia and the United States, also a key ally of India, which has expressed reservations about growing military cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi.
A joint statement released after the talks said that Russia and India had “reiterated their intention to strengthen defense cooperation, including in the joint development of the production of military equipment.”
In addition to the agreement for India to produce AK-203 assault rifles, Russia said it was interested in continuing to provide S-400 air defense missile systems.
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said the two countries had signed 28 investment pacts, including deals on steel, shipbuilding, coal and energy. He added that a 2018 contract was currently being implemented for the S-400 missile systems.
“Supplies have started this month, and they will continue to happen,” he said, referring to the S-400.
The Moscow deal puts India at risk of US sanctions under a 2017 US law aimed at deterring countries from buying Russian military equipment.
Russian oil company Rosneft said it signed a contract with Indian Oil to supply up to 2 million tonnes of oil to India by the end of 2022.
The countries also signed a memorandum of understanding for Russia to send an uninterrupted supply of coal to India to support its steel production, among other deals.
Putin and Modi also discussed the situation in Afghanistan, expressing their commitment to ensuring that the country never becomes a safe haven for international terrorism.
(REUTERS)
