Russia: India ties very close, S-400 delivery to be on time
Hailing India as its “closest friend and trusted partner”, Russia on Wednesday pledged both nations were “committed to the timelines for delivery” of the Russian S-400 air defence missile systems that India is acquiring. Russia also said its cooperation with Pakistan is “limited” as compared to that with India and includes Russian “help to provide anti-terrorism equipment” to Islamabad.
Russian ambassador to India Nikolay R. Kudashev and deputy chief of mission Roman N. Babushkin said India should be “part of the solution” in Afghanistan, as they reiterated Russia’s view on the “danger from the western Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at cold war thinking” and “talk of an Asian Nato”, a clear reference to Russia’s concerns that the fournation Quad is aimed at containing China in the region. Moscow also described Beijing as its “strategic partner”.
Hailing India as its “closest friend and trusted partner”, Russia on Wednesday assured that both nations were “committed to the timelines for delivery” of the Russian S-400 air defence missile systems that India is acquiring from it.
Russia also said its cooperation with Pakistan is “limited” as compared to that with India and includes Russian “help to provide anti-terrorism equipment” to Islamabad. At an online press conference on Wednesday, Russian ambassador to India Nikolay R. Kudashev and deputy chief of mission (DCM) Roman N. Babushkin also said India should be “part of the solution” in Afghanistan, even as they reiterated the Russian view on the “danger from the western Indo-Pacific strategy aimed at Cold War thinking” and “talk of an Asian Nato”, an obvious reference to Russian concerns that the four-nation Quad is aimed at containing China in the region.
Moscow also described Beijing as its “strategic partner”.
In response to a question on Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific, the two top Russian diplomats in New Delhi also conceded that while there may be “different points of views” on some issues between the India and Russia, both India and Russia are “on the same page” and that there is “no divergence, only dialogue”.
In response to another question, Russia also said it encouraged India and China to pursue their military disengagement in the Ladakh sector at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) between the two Asian giants.
The briefing was convened to discuss the outcomes of the recent visit to India of Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov who had openly pitched for a role for the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Asked about the apparent differences between the Indian and Russian positions on Afghanistan and the Indo-Pacific, Russian DCM Mr Babushkin said, “It is natural that two countries may have different points of views (on some issues). But there is no divergence, only dialogue.”