Putin clinches mega Indian defence deal

Russia and India’s leaders announced yesterday a raft of deals worth billions of dollars including for a military defence system. The flagship accord announced during a visit to India by President Vladimir Putin was for the formidable S-400 surface-to-air missile defence system, worth $5.2 billion according to an Indian source. Other agreements -- announced following a meeting between Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi that began with a hug -- were in railways, fertilisers and space, with Russia set to train astronauts for India’s first crewed space mission in 2022. “We welcome you as a leader of a country which has second-to-none relations with us,” Modi told a joint news conference. “Today we have taken decisions that will make our long term relations even stronger.”

Russia “reiterated its unwavering support to India for permanent membership in an expanded UN Security Council” and for India joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group of countries controlling access to nuclear technology, a joint statement said. The talks also covered Russia potentially building a new nuclear power plant in India, and also India paying Russia $2 billion for frigates and $1 billion for helicopters, although these last two were absent from the communique.

India’s decision to purchase the S-400, which shoots down any incoming enemy aircraft and missiles, flies in the face of the United States imposing sanctions on countries buying Russian military hardware, as happened with China last month. US-Russia ties are plumbingdepths not seen since the Cold War, plunging further still this week as Western powers accused Moscow of orchestrating a brazen string of global cyber attacks.