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A 10-year defence technical cooperation agreement and a one-year oil contract were among the deals signed as Mr Putin met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for talks in New Delhi. The Russian President headed to the Indian capital in what was only his second trip abroad since the pandemic first began, having skipped the G20 and COP26 summits this year.
India also confirmed that Russia began deliveries of its long-range S-400 ground-to-air missile defence system this month, raising threats of US sanctions.
Mr Putin snubbed the US when he hailed India as “a great power” as the pair bolstered ties, despite Washington’s attempt to strengthen its relationship with New Delhi.
The US had set up the QUAD security pact with India, Japan, and Australia, raising concerns in both Beijing and Moscow.
But now it appears that New Delhi is aligning itself more closely with Moscow.
Mr Putin said at the meeting: “We perceive India as a great power, a friendly nation and a time-tested friend.”
Russia has been a key supplier of arms to India for a long period, and the new S-400 missile system is one of its most high-profile current contracts.
Indian foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said, following the summit: “Supplies have begun this month and will continue.”
The deal is worth over £3.8billion and was first signed in 2018.
But the US has warned of sanctions under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), aimed at reining in Russia.
The State Department said last week that no decisions had been made on any waivers for India.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday: “Our Indian friends clearly explained that they are a sovereign country and that they will decide whose weapons to buy and who will be India’s partner.”
Nandan Unnikrishnan from the New Delhi-based Observer Research Foundation think tank, said Mr Putin’s visit to India was “hugely symbolic”.
He said: “There has been a lot of speculation about the nature of the India-Russia relationship and whether it is fraying because of Russia’s closeness with China and India’s with the US, but this visit puts all that to rest.”
The move comes as India looks to diversify its weapons supply and ramp up domestic production.
It has now launched a joint venture with Russia to manufacture AK-203 assault rifles.
Kalashnikov Concern said Monday that it had agreed on a contract to supply more than 600,000 AK-203 assault rifles manufactured in India for the Indian defence ministry.
As well as weapons, Russia’s state-owned energy firm Rosneft also confirmed it will supply nearly 2m tonnes of crude oil to Indian Oil Co (IOC) next year.
And the two countries struck up 28 investment pacts signed which include deals in the petrochemical, gas and fertilizer sectors.
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Under the Rosneft-IOC deal, the Russian energy firm will supply oil from the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk to the Indian firm in 2022.
The two companies had signed a similar deal in February 2020.
Strengthening partnerships in the petrochemical sector were also discussed at the 21st India-Russia Summit.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs said: “Both sides, appreciating the strength of the Indian petrochemical market, agreed to expand collaboration through Russian participation by way of investment, technological and other ways of collaboration in Indian petrochemical sector.”
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