MOSCOW, January 29. /TASS/. Media allegations that Russia is rapidly losing its positions on India’s weapons market have nothing to do with the real state of things as military technical cooperation between the two countries is developing steadily, a Russian defense sector company executive said on Friday.
"Reports that Russia is rapidly losing its positions on the Indian weapons market that have been circulated in a number of mass media outlets have nothing to do with reality," Sergei Goreslavsky, a deputy director general of Russia’s biggest arms trader Rosoboronexport, said. "Military technical cooperation between the two countries is developing steadily. India is our privileged partner and Rosobornexport is successfully implementing major defense projects for all types of armed forces in its interests."
"Cooperation volumes might be either lower of higher in different years but the projects that are currently being implemented or are in a stage of preparation prove that our joint work, including under the important state program Make in India, is only expanding," he said.
In an interview with TASS First Deputy Director General Mikhail Gusman in late December 2015, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that Russia had been "India’s foremost defense partner through decades, accounting for a majority of our defense equipment." "Even in the current environment, and despite India’s improved access to the world market, Russia remains our principal partner," he stressed.
Earlier, deputy head of Russia’s Federal Service for Military Technical Cooperation Anatoly Punchuk said Moscow was not worried over India’s defense cooperation with the United States. He reminded that since 1960 India has bought Soviet-and Russian-made weapons and military hardware to a sum of $60 billon.