Mon 06 December 2021:
On Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin flew in India for only his second overseas trip since the outbreak, hoping to strengthen military and energy ties with a historic ally that Washington is courting.
In order to deal with a rising China, the US has established the QUAD security discussion with India, Japan, and Australia, which has alarmed both Beijing and Moscow.
Russia intends to interact with India in the field of military cooperation, as well as to hold joint exercises, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
“We continue to develop relations both in the international arena and in the military sphere.
We are conducting joint military exercises both in India and in Russia. We are grateful to you for your understanding of this component of our work. We intend to continue working in this direction,” Putin said during a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
India was close to the Soviet Union during the Cold War, a relationship that has endured, with New Delhi calling it a “special and privileged strategic partnership”.
“The friendship between India and Russia has stood the test of time,” Modi told Putin at a virtual summit in September. “You have always been a great friend of India.” It is only the Russian leader’s second trip abroad since the coronavirus pandemic began — he skipped both the G20 and COP26 summits this year — after a June summit with US President Joe Biden in Geneva.
The long-range S-400 ground-to-air missile defense system is one of Russia’s most high-profile current contracts with India, which is trying to modernize its military forces.
The $5 billion agreement was inked in 2018, and deliveries are said to have begun, but it threatens to upend New Delhi’s budding relationship with Washington.
The two countries’ foreign and defence ministers held talks Monday ahead of Putin’s arrival.
A number of agreements and contracts were signed on small arms and military co-operation, India’s defence minister Rajnath Singh tweeted.
(with agencies)
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