India, Russia sign defence deals worth billions

Rosneft-led group buys Essar Oil stake for $13b; helicopter, missile, frigate deals announced.

GOA: India and Russia signed billions of dollars of defence and energy deals on Saturday at a summit that sought to inject new life into a relationship that has been tested by shifting global alliances and conflict in the Middle East.

Under the biggest agreement, a group led by Russian state oil major Rosneft said it would pay $12.9 billion for a controlling stake in both India’s Essar Oil and port facilities that it owns.

The countries, which had strong ties during the Cold War, announced plans for a joint venture to build helicopters in India. New Delhi said it would also buy surface-to-air missile systems and stealth frigates from Moscow.

“Ours is a truly unique and privileged relationship,” India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after talks with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in Goa. Modi said that his views were aligned with Putin’s on the unstable situation in Afghanistan and the Middle East.

“We are conducting a comprehensive dialog on a wide scale of international issues, in which Indian and Russian approaches are close to each other or coincide,” said Putin.

Modi also praised Putin’s support for the fight against international terrorism. “Russia’s clear stand on the need to combat terrorism mirrors our own,” Modi said.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 16^th, 2016.