“Our relationship is strong”
Lavrov offers India a hand in arms production
December 27, 2023, 7:18 p.m
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India’s approach to the war in Ukraine is based purely on national interests, says Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov. He gives the country great credit for its silence regarding Moscow’s invasion. At a meeting with his Indian counterpart, he discussed opportunities for arms cooperation.
Russia and India want to work more closely together in the production of defense equipment. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this after a meeting with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow, according to the state news agency Tass. Lavrov gave few details.
It is about both the joint production of modern types of weapons and arms production as part of the Indian program “Make in India”. The cooperation serves strategic security on the Eurasian continent, said Lavrov. Both sides praised the good bilateral relationship. “Our relationship is very strong, very stable,” Jaishankar said before meeting Lavrov. The foreign minister of the world’s most populous country was also scheduled to be received by President Vladimir Putin.
Lavrov positively emphasized that India is proceeding purely from national interests on the issue of the war in Ukraine. The leadership in New Delhi is neutral about the Russian war of aggression, does not support Western sanctions against Moscow and repeatedly advocates for conflict resolution through dialogue. Since the start of the war, India has increased imports of cheap oil from Russia.
It is the second most important oil customer behind China, said Russian Energy Minister Alexander Nowak in a television interview. “India-Russia relations reflect geopolitical realities, strategic rapprochement and mutual benefit,” Jaishankar wrote on Platform X (formerly Twitter) after the meeting. India has good relations with Western countries, but also with Russia, on which it is dependent for its military equipment. But the country is also increasingly buying military equipment from other countries, including France.