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Russia, India firm up arms contracts
by Yogesh Goel

      Moscow: Russia and India are discussing arms sales contracts, which would be signed when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits Moscow on December 12 and 13, visiting Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee said on Wednesday evening. The Interfax news agency quoting Mukherjee had put the volume of arms contract at 10 billion dollars. Mukherjee, who is in Moscow for bilateral talks, also called on President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday. "We have covered large areas of cooperation including the finalisation of the draft agreement IPR (Intellectual Property Rights). Also we have made substantial progress on medium transport aircraft agreement and it is expected during the summit meeting between prime Minster of India Mr. Manmohan Singh and his Excellency the President of Russia Mr. Putin, it would be possible to sign those agreements," Mukherjee told reporters in Moscow after concluding his talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ivanov. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov told Itar-Tass news agency on Tuesday the Russo-Indian Commission was expected to discuss a wide range of contracts, including weapons for the Indian navy, air force, ground troops and a joint production of military and dual-use equipment.

     India is the second biggest buyer of Russian weapons after China, accounting for nearly 40 percent of Moscow's overall arms exports which hit a record 5.12 billion dollars last year. Ivanov told Tass that starting from 1960, India has bought some 40 billion dollars worth of Soviet and Russian arms. The sale of Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Gorshkov and a contract for the production in India of SU-30MKI fighter jets have been the biggest contracts in the past five years. The inter-governmental commission co-chaired by the defence ministers of the two countries, is steering body for the implementation of long-term Indo-Russian defence cooperation programme. The programme worth 20 billion dollars includes over 200 projects involving the supply and development of military hardware and weapons platforms for all the three services of the Indian armed forces. Mukherjee also said that he discussed the issue of cross border terrorism with Russian leaders. "We took the opportunity in this meeting to share our perception on international peace, tranquility and specially the areas of concern of the growing menace of international cross border terrorism," he said. India is battling Muslim rebels in its side of Kashmir whereas Russia is struggling Chechen rebels challenging its authority. New Delhi and Moscow share a strong friendship dating back to India's support of the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Some 70 percent of India's military hardware comes from Russia. Russian warships, paratroopers and a nuclear submarine, have taken take part in joint naval exercises with India in recent past. India has, however, moved away from its near complete dependence on Moscow for weapons and now buys from Israel, South Africa and the United States. President Vladimir Putin also backs India's longstanding bid to win a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.