Russia fails to meet its commitments on weapons delivery to India due to war in Ukraine
Flag of India (Photo:hari_mangayil/pixabay)
Russia is unable to provide India with promised weapons because of its full-scale war in Ukraine, an Indian Air Force (IAF) representative told an parliamentary committee on March 24, CNN reported.
The Indian official complained about "a major delivery" from Russia that “is not going to take place.”
The biggest known Indian military contract with Russia is for the supply of S-400 Triumf air defence systems worth $5.4 billion, news agency Reuters wrote. Three such systems have been delivered and two more are expected. The Indian army also relies on Russia in supply of spare parts for its Su-30MKI and MiG-29 fighter jets.
India is heavily dependent on Russian military supplies amid ongoing tensions on its borders with China and Pakistan, CNN wrote. Its relations with the Russian (and formerly Soviet) arms industry were established in the times of the Cold War.
India remains the largest recipient of Russian weapons, despite Russian defense exports falling from 62% to 45% in the period of 2017- 2022, according to a report by arms industry research organization the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The United States discussed with India its dependence on Russian arms, a representative of the U.S. State Department said in September 2022. He noted that Russia could not be a "reliable arms supplier," and that India began to realize that it can benefit from reaching out to new markets.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided against holding his annual personal summit with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin after Putin made nuclear threats against Ukraine, despite the fact that 21 Russian-Indian summits have been held for the last 20 years.
However, India refuses to condemn Russia over its aggression against Ukraine and has increased Russian oil imports in the past year.
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