NEW DELHI, January 9. /TASS/. Moscow will fulfill its obligations under the contract to deliver the S-400 missile systems to India, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov told TASS on the sidelines of the Valdai Discussion Club’s meeting taking place as part of the Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi.
"We are capable of dealing with the financial aspect of the contract, let alone the technical one, regardless of decisions made by the United States," the senior Russian diplomat said.
According to Ryabkov, although Russia has been under Western sanctions for several years, defense cooperation "is not falling apart, it is progressing." "If it [the United States] makes such decisions, then it will tarnish its own image not only in Russia but also in other countries that want and will cooperate with us," he added.
Russia and India signed a contract for the delivery of the S-400 systems on October 5, 2018, during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country. New Delhi is expected to receive five regiment sets of the S-400 systems worth more than $5 bln. A military diplomat told TASS earlier that the first regiment set would be delivered to India in the fall of 2020.
The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler) is the most advanced long-range anti-aircraft missile system that went into service in 2007. It is designed to destroy aircraft, cruise and ballistic missiles, including medium-range ones, and can also be used against ground objectives. The S-400 system can engage targets at a distance of 400 km and at an altitude of up to 35 km.