Russia has assured India that defence supplies will not be affected amid the western sanctions declared against Moscow. As a result, alternate mechanisms have been established to ensure that supplies of air defence systems, such as the S-400, are not disrupted.
The Indian Air Force (IAF), which operates a variety of Russian-origin equipment, including the Su-30 MKI and MiG series of fighter planes, has also said that there may be certain difficulties but the sanctions won’t have major impact.
According to Denis Alipov, Russia’s appointed ambassador, there are mechanisms in place to facilitate bilateral defence trade but much will depend on the readiness of Indian partners to continue doing business.
Alipov urged Indian companies to have confidence in trade with the country. “As regards the bilateral trade in defence areas, we have the means of transactions independent of the western financial mechanism. There are ways of continuing business and we don’t have any worries about that. It is a question of adjusting to the current situation,” he said.
