Rajnath discusses S-400 supply with Russia

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh today held separate meetings with his Russian and Chinese counterparts on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting in Qingdao, China.

He discussed S-400 supply with his Russian counterpart.

Rajnath met his Chinese counterpart Admiral Dong Jun. This was the second meet between the two since the two sides decided to de-escalate along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in October last year. Rajnath and Dong had met in November last year on the sidelines of the 11th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus at Laos.

Though India had not issued a statement till late on Thursday night, the issue of maintaining peace and tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) was expected to be discussed in the meeting. This was the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to China after the armies of the two countries clashed at Galwan in June 2020. Describing the meeting, Chinese state-controlled media quoted Rajnath having said, “India and China are neighbours that cannot be separated and share a long history of interactions.”

“India does not seek conflict or confrontation with China and is willing to properly manage differences, enhance communication and mutual trust and promote steady development of bilateral relations,” the Global Times quoted Rajnath as having said.

Rajnath also met his Russian counterpart Andrey Belousov. He posted on X, “We had insightful deliberations on boosting India-Russia defence ties.”

Posting a statement on its Telegram channel, quoting Belousov, the Russian Ministry of Defence said, "India is an extremely important strategic partner for us, a traditional friend, and a partner in the military and military-technical spheres.”

Among the matters to be discussed was the supply of the two remaining S-400 air defence missile systems. India signed a $5.43 billion deal with Russia in 2018 for five squadrons of the S-400 missile system, a state-of-the-art air defence platform capable of engaging multiple aerial threats at long ranges. Two S-400 units are expected to be delivered over the next 24 months.

Earlier, addressing the SCO meeting, Dong Jun said, “China is willing to work with all SCO member states to firmly safeguard international fairness and justice, jointly address security challenges, and promote steady and far-reaching defence and security cooperation.”