Rajnath to press Russia for timely delivery of S-400 Triumfs, AK 203 rifles deal may be finalised

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As India is entangled in a bitter border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday reached Russia to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO). Singh will be meeting his Russian counterpart Sergey Shoigu to boost bilateral defence cooperation between the two countries.

Notably, both India and China are members of SCO. The SCO comprises eight member states — India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. Beijing is being represented by Chinese Defence Minister Gen Wei Fenghe, while Pakistan’s Pervez Khattak may attend the meeting of the influential bloc. India became a member of the SCO in 2017.

Ahead of his departure, Singh said, “India and Russia are privileged Strategic Partners. Looking forward to further this partnership during my visit.”

Officials stated that Singh would urge Shoigu to ensure timely delivery of defence-related equipment, like the weapons systems, ammunition and spares.

The long-pending AK 203 rifles deal is expected to be finalised during Singh’s visit. It is being said that the defence minister will also request his Russia counterpart to ensure the timely delivery of the S-400 missile defence systems to India. The first batch of the missile systems is scheduled to be delivered to New Delhi by the end of 2021.

This is Singh’s second visit to Russia since June. On June 24, he attended the Victory Day Parade at Red Square in Moscow on June 24 that commemorated the 75th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in the Second World War. In a rare sight, tri-Service contingent of 75 personnel from the Indian Armed forces, participated in Russia’s 75th World War II Victory Day parade. 

The SCO member nations are expected to deliberate on regional security challenges like terrorism and extremism. The SCO is one of the largest transregional international organisations which accounts for almost 44 per cent of the world population. At present, the SCO counts four observer states, namely Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia.