New Delhi has suspended negotiations with Moscow on the supply of ten Ka-31 on-board radar patrol helicopters for the amount of 520 million dollars. This was reported today, May 17, by the American portal Defense News (which specializes in military matters), citing an anonymous source within the Indian Ministry of Defence.
According to the publication’s interlocutor, the South Asian giant fears that Russia, against the backdrop of the armed conflict with Ukraine and Western sanctions, “will not be able to honor a defense order, and also because payment-related issues. The source also claimed that the Central Bank of India was developing a mechanism to pay for transactions with Russia in rubles and rupees, but these efforts “did not come to fruition”.
Defense News admits that the suspension of the arms deal may be due to international pressure on India over cooperation with Russia and New Delhi’s neutral stance regarding the Russian special military operation in Ukraine.
Washington has previously urged New Delhi to abandon its partnership with Moscow and turn to “strategic engagement” with the United States.
As reported EAD every day, India has doubled its imports of Russian crude oil, despite warnings from the United States, buying all major grades of black gold from one of the world’s largest producers of liquid hydrocarbons. According to Indian refiners and traders, local refineries now prefer private deals rather than buying through public tenders.
