THE RUSSIAN ARMS PIPELINE

A STRING OF NEW DEFENCE DEALS SETS THE STAGE FOR THE FORTHCOMING FACE-TO-FACE SUMMIT BETWEEN PRIME MINISTER MODI AND RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN

- Sandeep Unnithan

LORD OF WAR MEETS James Bond in a dimly-lit conference room in the heart of Moscow. See-through glass panels glisten with images of drones, tanks and missiles. A hologram host—a Russian-speaking woman in a little black dress—glides along minimalist concrete walls to explain cutting-edge weaponry produced by Moscow’s military industrial complex. Coiffed English-speaking executives, the public relations tip of an export-focused military enterprise, walk around the display with tablets. Welcome to the headquarters of the Federal Service of Military Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), the Russian body overseeing global arms exports worth over $50 billion (Rs 3.65 lakh crore) annually.

In the conference room, FSMTC director Dmitry Shugaev downplays the US sanctions hanging like the sword of Damocles over Russia’s arms transactions with India. “Such sanctions have zero per cent effect,” says Shugaev. “India is interested in strengthening its military capability.” This would certainly seem to be the case. Later this year, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will take delivery of the first consignment of the Russian-built S-400 long range air defence missile system. It is part of a $5.43 billion (Rs 39,645 crore) deal for five systems signed in 2018 in the teeth of opposition from the US. The US has warned India about the provisions of CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) against countries dealing with Russia, promoted by Moscow’s alleged interference in the 2016 US presidential polls and military actions in Syria and Ukraine.