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India’s defence minister, Rajnath Singh, reaffirmed to Russian president Vladimir Putin that their bilateral relationship remained strong despite the “enormous pressure” of global geopolitical challenges.
Mr Singh concluded a three-day visit to Moscow on Wednesday that was focussed on getting the Russians to expedite the export of the S-400 missile system. The delivery of the weapons system was delayed by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
India’s diplomatic and trade ties with Russia have persisted despite Western pressure on New Delhi to pull away from Moscow due to its war in Ukraine.
“Friendship between our countries is higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest ocean,” the minister told Mr Putin on Tuesday.
“Despite the fact that there are geopolitical challenges and there is enormous pressure on India of a public and private nature,” he said, “India has made a conscious decision that it will not only continue close contacts with Russia but will also deepen and expand our cooperation.”
India has avoided directly criticising Russia for its invasion of Ukraine but called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve the conflict.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky had called on Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in October to use his influence on Mr Putin to push for an end to the war. Mr Zelensky said Mr Modi has “huge influence” on Mr Putin and can take a “real step”.
Russia has been a key partner for India since the Cold War era and they have continued to expand cooperation in defence, nuclear energy, oil, and space exploration despite Western pressure.
Mr Singh met Russian defence minister Andrey Belousov for the 21st session of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Cooperation.
He pressed Russia to expedite the delivery of the remaining two units of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile system, a critical component of India’s air defence modernisation programme.
The $5bn (£3.8bn) deal signed in 2018 to acquire five S-400 regiments was one of India’s most significant military procurements. The deal faced scrutiny by Western countries and the threat of US sanctions, which Delhi eventually managed to have waived off.
Delhi has received three units of the missile system and two more are scheduled to be delivered by the end of 2025. The Covid pandemic and the Ukraine war disrupted Russian defence production and export chains, causing delays in the delivery to India.
Mr Singh also attended the commissioning ceremony for India’s latest naval vessel at the Kaliningrad shipyard on Monday. INS Tushil, a stealth guided missile frigate, was one of the four vessels contracted by India from Russia in 2018. “The ship is a proud testament to India’s growing maritime strength and a significant milestone in long-standing bilateral relations with Russia,” Mr Singh said.
India, the world’s biggest importer of weapons, has depended heavily on Russia for its defence needs, with Moscow its biggest defence partner.
The Ukraine war has cast a shadow on the defence partnership, however, with data showing a steady decline in India’s military equipment orders with Russia and a pivot to Western suppliers.
Russia accounted for about 36 per cent of India’s arms imports last year, a sharp decline from 76 per cent in 2009, according to a report released in March this year by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think tank focused on conflict, arms trade and disarmament.
