Adm Gorshkov row to be resolved with fresh contract
04 Sep 2009
Moscow: Russian officials have stated that the contentious issue of increased payments for the refit programme of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya (ex-Adm Gorshkov) would be resolved through a new contract - likely to be signed mid-October. This was stated Thursday in a news conference in Moscow by Sergei Chemezov, the head of the state technology corporation, Rostekhnologii.
"An additional agreement will be signed," Chemezov said.
There is no word on this from New Delhi, however.
The Adm Gorshkov contract has become a festering sore in Indo-Russian relations with the unresolved dispute over increased payments for the ship lingering on for well over a year and a half.
Under a contract signed in 2004, Russia was to be paid a total of $1.5 billion for the refurbishment of the outdated Adm Gorshkov, including an air complement of MiG-29K Fulcrum carrier-based fighters.