India, Russia discuss ways to further intensify defence partnership amid geopolitical tensions

India and Russia have reaffirmed their defence partnership as Deputy Defence Minister Aleksandr Fomin met Ambassador Vinay Kumar in Moscow. The talks come amid tensions with the US over India’s Russian oil imports and Trump’s proposed tariff hikes

Moscow: Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister Colonel General Aleksandr Fomin on Wednesday held a meeting with Vinay Kumar, India’s Ambassador to Russia, as both sides discussed ways to further intensify the multifaceted India-Russia Special Privileged Strategic Partnership.

“During the talks, the sides discussed topical issues of bilateral cooperation in the defence sphere, confirmed the focus on further strengthening the specialised cooperation in the form of a particularly privileged strategic partnership,” read a statement issued by the Russian Defence Ministry.

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“The meeting took place in a warm and friendly atmosphere, which is traditional for the Russian-Indian relations,” it added. India has a longstanding and wide-ranging cooperation with Russia in the field of defence, which is guided by the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MMTC) headed by the Defence Ministers of both countries.

As time-tested partners, both countries have been involved in several bilateral projects, including the supply of S-400, licensed production of T-90 tanks and Su-30 MKI, supply of MiG-29 and Kamov helicopters, INS Vikramaditya (formerly Admiral Gorshkov), production of AK-203 rifles in India and BrahMos missiles.

New Delhi and Moscow acknowledge that the military technical cooperation has evolved over time from a buyer-seller framework to one involving joint research and development, co-development and joint production of advanced defence technology and systems.

As the Indian Armed Forces successfully retaliated and also inflicted significant losses on Pakistan during the decisive Operation Sindoor in May this year, the S-400 air defence system was credited with shooting down several incoming missiles from across the border.

Considering the strategic planning and military preparedness, New Delhi is set to procure more S-400 air defence systems soon. Meanwhile, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval is also in Moscow, holding meetings with senior Russian officials to discuss India-Russia defence and security cooperation.

The visit comes at a time when US President Donald Trump has announced that he will announce “very substantial” increases to the 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods because of New Delhi’s oil purchases from Russia. Trump has accused New Delhi of “fuelling the war machine” by buying cheaper Russian oil and selling it for “big profits”.