Russia assures timely delivery of S-400 Triumf missile systems to India
10 Jan 2019
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Russia has assured India of timely delivery of the S-400 air defence systems and also of a payment mechanism for the deal. Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said on Wednesday that there will be no delays in the delivery of the missile systems.
India inked an agreement with Russia in October last year to procure a batch of the missile systems, at a cost of Rs40,000 crore, which would significantly enhance India's air defence capability.
The government had also last week informed the Lok Sabha that India will start receiving the missile systems from Russia from October next year and that the deliveries will be completed by April 2023.
Since India overlooked US concerns over the deal, there were apprehensions about the payment mechanism for the deal in the wake of the US sanctions against Russia.
"India would receive the systems as agreed upon in due time, without any delays. And, your (India's) national security will be enhanced substantially," Ryabkov told reporters.
"We (Russia) want to be immune to arbitrary unilateral measures undertaken by some country against a very legitimate form of international cooperation," he said.
Asked about President Vladimir Putin’s invitation to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an economic conclave in Vladivostok in September when parliamentary elections in India are due April-May, Ryabkov said Moscow is not concerned about the political situation in India.
On the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty, the deputy foreign minister said there are "huge chances" for the US to formally depart from the treaty in the very near future.
The 1987 pact helps protect the security of the US and its allies in Europe and the Far East.
"We are deeply concerned on the situation around the INF treaty. We do not see any signs of any improvement so far... We have received a formal note, a formal notification from the US side, of its intention to suspend the implementation of the treaty," he said in response to a question.
President Donald Trump in October confirmed that the US will pull out of a cold war era arms control treaty with Russia that limited the number of missiles in the two nations, accusing Moscow of violating the deal.
