Russia backs India’s efforts to counter terrorism

New Delhi, Nov. 6: Russia on Wednesday reaffirmed its strong support to India in effectively dealing with terrorism, saying it accords priority to New Delhi’s security interests in the region.

Russian defence minister general Sergey Shoigu made the remarks during a delegation-level meeting with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh in Moscow, according to the defence ministry here.

The 19th India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation, co-chaired by Singh and Shoigu, deliberated on all key aspects of defence and security ties between the two countries.

In a significant move, the two ministers directed their respective teams to work closely for early conclusion of the IndiaRussia InterGovernmental Agreement on Reciprocal Logistics Support.

The defence ministry said General Shoigu agreed to Singh’s request to constitute specific working groups for aftersales support of key defence platforms being used by Indian armed forces.

“Both sides agreed to intensify efforts to finalise cooperation programme for 2021-2030 period,” the ministry said.

Russia has been one of India’s key major suppliers of arms and ammunition.

However, it has been a long-standing grievance of armed forces that supply of critical spares and equipment from Russia takes a long time affecting maintenance of military systems procured from that country.

“The Russian side reaffirmed its strong support to India in the field of counter-terrorism and stated that it accords priority to New Delhi’s security interests in the region,” the ministry