India and Russia hold ‘warm’ talks on military cooperation

Indian and Russian officials have wrapped up the latest meeting of a joint military commission at which they discussed deepening defense ties between the two countries. In a statement, New Delhi described the two-day event as taking place in a “warm and friendly” atmosphere.   

The third meeting of the working group for the Indian-Russian Intergovernmental Commission on Military and Military-Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC) was held on 18-19 July in New Delhi, the Indian Defense Ministry said in a press release.  

“The meeting was conducted in a friendly, warm and cordial atmosphere. The discussions focused on extending the ongoing defense engagements between the two sides and mulled new initiatives under the ambit of the existing bilateral defense cooperation mechanism,” the statement read. The meeting was co-chaired by Indian military official Lt. General Johnson P Mathew and Lt. General Igor Dylevsky of the Russian General Staff.  

The IRIGC-MTC was established in 2000 to drive engagement between Russia and India in the defense and technological domains, while the working group oversees regular talks at the strategic and operational levels.  

According to the Economic Times, the meeting in New Delhi discussed the issue of spare parts and maintenance for defense equipment supplied by Russia to India, which ranges from Su and MIG fighter jets to various tanks and navy vessels, as well as air defense systems. Earlier this year, reports suggested that Russia had faced problems with supplying defense items to India due to the conflict in Ukraine. However, those claims were refuted by Russian defense officials, who insisted that Moscow had fulfilled all its obligations.  

Russia is currently executing a range of major defense contracts with India, including for S-400 systems and two Project 11356 frigates. Discussions are ongoing for other potential agreements such as the procurement of additional Su-30 MKI fighter jets and the modernization of existing ones, as well as upgrades to MIG-29s. However, industry sources in both countries have indicated that new contracts may not be signed before there is a firm resolution to the crisis in Ukraine.  

A failure to find an acceptable payment mechanism has also allegedly had an impact on Indo-Russian defense cooperation in the past year. According to reports, payments worth several billion dollars for military goods supplied by Moscow to New Delhi were affected due to Western sanctions. The issue was raised at several bilateral forums, and some payments began to be processed in May-June, banking industry sources told RT.