India, Russia defence ministers to meet in Moscow on Dec 10

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who will be on an official visit to Russia from December 8-10 will meet his counterpart Andrey Belousov. They will co-chair the 21st meeting of India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military and Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-M&MTC).

The Ministry of Defence said, “The two leaders will review the entire range of multi-faceted relations between the two countries in the field of defence, including military-to-military and industrial cooperation”.

In the run-up to the meeting, officials from the two sides had met in Moscow on Friday. The Russian Defence Ministry said Colonel General Aleksandr Fomin, Deputy Minister of Defence, held a meeting with the Indian Ambassador to Russia Vinay Kumar.

The Russian Defence Ministry said, “In the course of the conversation, the parties discussed in detail the topical issues of bilateral cooperation in the military and military-technical spheres, and reiterated their focus on further strengthening of specialised cooperation in the spirit of a particularly privileged strategic partnership”.

Sources said India was expected to take up the issue of delivery timelines of the S-400 air defence missiles, two of the units are still be delivered. In October 2018, India signed a $5.4 billion deal, that set the full delivery schedule till 2024. However, with Russia’s conflict with Ukraine delayed, the final two units are expected next year.

Singh will also commission the Indian Navy’s latest multi-role stealth guided missile frigate ‘INS Tushil’ at Yantar Shipyard, Kaliningrad on Dec 9. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi will accompany Rajnath Singh for the commissioning ceremony. Singh will pay tributes at ‘The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier’ in Moscow to honour the Soviet soldiers killed during the Second World War.