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India and Russia have taken a significant step toward strengthening their military cooperation with the signing of the Reciprocal Logistics Support Agreement (RELOS), an administrative pact aimed at streamlining operational logistics between the two nations. The agreement, concluded in Moscow in February 2025 and now ratified by the Russian Parliament, the Duma, is expected to enhance the efficiency of joint operations and long-range deployments significantly.
According to officials, RELOS will allow both sides to access each other’s military bases and logistics facilities for refuelling, replenishment of rations and spare parts, berthing, and maintenance support. The arrangement will apply to both peacetime and wartime missions and will enable seamless use of existing logistics networks, improving response times during contingencies. It also formalises several ad-hoc logistics practices currently in place:
- It will facilitate the replenishment of essential supplies (fuel, rations, spare parts), thus enabling continuous, uninterrupted military presence in crucial regions.
- It will provide berthing facilities for troops, warships, and aircraft.
- It will be applicable during both wartime and peacetime missions.
- It will enable smoother utilisation of the host nation’s existing logistics networks. Enhances the ability to respond swiftly to crises.
- It formalises and standardises the existing practices for all reciprocal logistic services undertaken presently.
The pact permits up to five warships, ten aircraft, and 3,000 military personnel from either country to be stationed simultaneously in the partner nation’s territory for five years, with a provision for a further five-year extension upon mutual consent. The details were confirmed by First Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma’s International Affairs Committee Vyacheslav Nikonov following the Russian Parliament’s ratification.
The agreement is strategically significant: India will gain logistical access to Russian facilities in the Arctic, while Russia will benefit from entry points and support hubs in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR), thereby amplifying both nations’ operational reach.
Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his Russian counterpart Andrei Belousov are set to co-chair the 22nd India–Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Military & Military Technical Cooperation in New Delhi on Thursday. The last edition of the meeting was held in Moscow in December 2024.
The ministers will review the full spectrum of defence partnership, ranging from military cooperation to ongoing and future military-technical projects, and exchange views on regional and global security developments. During his visit, Belousov will also lay a wreath at the National War Memorial to honour Indian soldiers, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.
Ravi Shankar
Dr Ravi Shankar has over two decades of experience in communications, print journalism, electronic media, documentary film making and new media.
He makes regular appearances on national television news channels as a commentator and analyst on current and political affairs. Apart from being an acknowledged Journalist, he has been a passionate newsroom manager bringing a wide range of journalistic experience from past associations with India’s leading media conglomerates (Times of India group and India Today group) and had led global news-gathering operations at world’s biggest multimedia news agency- ANI-Reuters. He has covered Parliament extensively over the past several years. Widely traveled, he has covered several summits as part of media delegation accompanying the Indian President, Vice President, Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister and Finance Minister across Asia, Africa and Europe.
