Moscow: Russia, a traditional partner of India, has initiated a significant step towards boosting military cooperation between the two countries.
Its government has approved an Agreement on Joint Military Deployments with India.
The Agreement aims at regulating deployments and logistical support between the armed forces of the two countries.
To convert the Agreement into practice, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin has tasked his country’s Defence Ministry to negotiate details of the pact with India.
Although more details of the Agreement are not known yet, such pacts usually entail mutual support in terms of logistics during military operations of various kinds.
Generally, the support involves provision of critical services like refuelling, maintenance, and supply provisions.
The agreement is proposed to be effective for 5 years and will be subject to automatic renewal unless either party decides to terminate it.
India has a longstanding military relationship with Russia, dating back to early 1950s.
Russia has traditionally been the mainstay of India’s defence procurement.
At one point of time, over 80 percent of India’s military armoury comprised the equipment of Russia or its parent Soviet Union.
The two countries signed a Comprehensive Agreement on Military-Technical cooperation in 2001 and its term is till 2030.
India already has similar agreements with the US, France, South Korea, Singapore, Australia and Japan.
However, it will be interesting to see if India signs the Agreement with Russia considering the fact that it is facing Western sanctions.
