India has ‘substantial inventory’ of Russian weapons, S Jaishankar explains why
3 min read 10 Oct 2022, 09:14 PM ISTExternal Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while answering a question by an Australian reporter, has explained why India has a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons.
PremiumExternal Affairs Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar, unlike his recent predecessors is well known for his straightforward and unambiguous comments, often free from diplomatic sugarcoat. On Monday, in a veiled reference to Pakistan he said that, India has a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons because the Western countries opted a military dictatorship in the region as its "preferred partner" and did not supply arms to New Delhi for decades.
Jaishankar also stated that India and Russia have a long-standing relationship that has unquestionably served India's interests well during a joint press conference with his Australian counterpart Penny Wong.
An Australian reporter had questioned him about whether India should reconsider its relationship with Russia in light of the situation in Ukraine and lessen its reliance on Russian weaponry.
In a blunt response to the question Jaishankar said, "We have a substantial inventory of Soviet and Russian-origin weapons. And that inventory actually grew for a variety of reasons. You know, the merits of the weapons systems themselves, but also because for multiple decades, Western countries did not supply weapons to India, and in fact, saw a military dictatorship next to us as the preferred partner."
Evidently, he was making reference to Pakistan, a key ally of the US-led West during the Cold War. More than half of Pakistan's 73 years of history have seen the Army Generals in power.
"We all in international politics deal with what we have, we make judgments, judgments which are reflective of both our future interests as well as our current situation. And my sense is, in terms of this current conflict, like every military conflict, there are learnings from it, and I am sure my very professional colleagues in the military would be studying it very carefully," Jaishankar said.
In a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken last month, Jaishankar stated that when India is offered weapons, it makes a decision that it believes is in its national interest.
India-Russia recent defence partnership
India has gotten a lot of its military equipment from Russia. In light of the Western sanctions against Moscow, the two nations have been discussing the kinds of payment mechanisms that might be possible between them.
Denis Alipov,Russian ambassador to India, stated last month that despite pressure from Washington and sanctions from the US-led West, Russia had delivered its most modern long-range surface-to-air missile defence system, the S-400, to India on schedule.
The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system. The "Triumf" interceptor-based missile system has a range of up to 400 km and can take out incoming hostile missiles, drones, and even aircraft.
Russia had started delivery of the first regiment of the missile in December last year.
The missile system has already been deployed in such a way that it can cover parts of the border with China in the northern sector as well as the frontier with Pakistan.
Despite warnings from the then-Trump administration that moving forward with the contract might result in US sanctions under CAATSA, India and Russia agreed to a USD 5 billion deal in October 2018 to buy five S-400 air defence missile systems.
Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act or CAATSA is a tough US law which authorizes the administration to impose sanctions on countries that purchase major defence hardware from Russia in response to Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014 and its alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.
India's stand on Ukraine-Russia crisis
On Monday, foreign ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement, “India is deeply concerned at the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine, including targeting of infrastructure and deaths of civilians."
He added, “We reiterate that escalation of hostilities is in no one's interest. We urge immediate cessation of hostilities and the urgent return to the path of diplomacy and dialogue. India stands ready to support all such efforts aimed at de-escalation."
(With inputs from agencies)
