Defence ties in focus at Rajnath-Putin meeting

NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, with a focus on bilateral defence cooperation as the two leaders stressed the "immense potential" of the India-Russia partnership, according to an official statement.

- Rahul Singh

On the second day of his visit, Rajnath also met his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov and asked Moscow to speed up the delivery of the two remaining squadrons of the S-400 air defence missile systems, sought enhanced spares and maintenance support for the Indian Air Force's Sukhoi-30 fleet, and urged Russia to explore the possibility of making India a hub for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of T-90 and T-72 tanks, people aware of the matter said.

During his meeting with Putin on the sidelines of the 21st meeting of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC), the defence minister said that India has always stood by its "Russian friends" and will continue to do so in future, the statement said.

"Friendship between our countries is higher than the highest mountain and deeper than the deepest ocean," the defence ministry quoted him as saying.

It added: "Rajnath Singh discussed various issues of bilateral defence cooperation. Both leaders expressed that partnership between both countries holds immense potential and combined efforts will pave the way for remarkable outcomes."

Singh also conveyed greetings from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Putin, according to the statement.