Delivery of S-400 missile systems to India proceeding well, Russia says
Premium- India received the delivery of the first regiment of the S-400 missile systems by Russia in December last year, while the latter began supplying the second one in April.
The delivery of Russia's S-400 missile systems to India is proceeding well as per the schedule. The Russian ambassador Denis Alipov on Sunday clarified after concerns in New Delhi over a possible delay in the supply of the major military hardware to the country by Russia amidst the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine.
The ambassador wrote in the Russia Digest magazine on the occasion of the 75th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Russia. He said, "The best-of-a-kind S-400 systems delivery is proceeding well according to the schedule," reported by PTI.
India received the delivery of the first regiment of the S-400 missile systems by Russia in December last year, while the latter began supplying the second one in April.
Notably, the ambassador revealed that the missile system has already been deployed in such a way that it can cover parts of the border with China in the northern sector as well as the frontier with Pakistan.
This year in March, Russia stated that there will be no impact of the western sanctions against it on the supply of S-400 missile systems to India. Many western economies have imposed various sanctions on Russia condemning their actions against Ukraine.
Western countries have imposed severe sanctions on Russia following its military invasion of Ukraine.
Alipov said that today's Russia-India multidimensional cooperation is one of the world's most elaborate ones.
Further, in the piece, the ambassador stated that the two countries continued to successfully implement flagship initiatives that make the cooperation unparalleled. Related to the context, Alipov referred to the Kudankulam nuclear power plant project in Tamil Nadu and various ambitious defence partnership programmes under the framework of the "Make in India" and "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India) initiatives.
Highlighting defence projects, the ambassador listed out the joint venture for the production of AK-203 rifles, combat aviation, and manufacture of the main battle tanks as well as frigates, submarines, Brahmos supersonic missiles, and other missile projects.
India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia in October 2018 for purchasing five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the Donald Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions. Russia has been a major supplier of military hardware to the country.
As per the report, Russia and India have been holding discussions on what kind of payment mechanisms can work between them in view of the western sanctions on Moscow. It needs to be noted that India is yet to directly criticise Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and has abstained from the votes at the UN platforms in condemning the Russian aggression.