India-Russia rapport: Trump fails to weaken ties between old allies
The Tribune Editorial: The deal to produce a civil aircraft together highlights New Delhi’s pragmatic approach of maintaining strategic ties with Moscow — even if it irks Washington.
INDIA is in no mood to scale down its engagement with Russia despite relentless US pressure. The government-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has signed a pact with Russia’s Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation, a company sanctioned by the US, to manufacture SJ-100 jets in India. The initiative is expected to spur Aatmanirbharta in the civil aviation sector and give a fillip to India’s ambition of becoming an aerospace manufacturing hub. Beyond the aviation push, the deal highlights New Delhi’s pragmatic approach of maintaining strategic ties with Moscow — even if it irks Washington. In a similar vein, Indian Oil Corporation and other Indian oil firms may not completely halt the purchase of Russian crude. The recent US sanctions have a loophole: they target specific Russian suppliers, not oil itself. This implies that crude aggregation from fields in Russia can be carried out by non-sanctioned entities, allowing supplies to continue. This arrangement suits India as well as Russia, diminishing the impact of the punitive curbs.
