Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Ukraine on 23 August, the Russian Navy Chief is in India to explore new opportunities to strengthen maritime cooperation between Moscow and New Delhi. Admiral Aleksandr Alekseyevich Moiseyev, on an official visit from 19 to 22 August, held discussions with Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Navy Chief Admiral Dinesh Tripathi on Monday.
India has been trying to maintain a balanced strategic relationship between its long-standing partnership with Russia and the US-led Western bloc, which has voiced concerns about the close ties between New Delhi and Moscow. India is also concerned about the growing strategic alliance between China and Russia.
The discussions between Admiral Moiseyev and Gen Chauhan on Monday “underscored the mutual commitment towards enhancing maritime security, deepening strategic cooperation and fostering a stronger defence partnership between the two nations”, according to an official statement.
The Russian Navy Chief called on his Indian counterpart, Adm Dinesh K Tripathi, and held discussions on collaborative mechanisms and measures to further strengthen Navy-to-Navy cooperation.
“The visit is a testimony to the longstanding relationship between the navies of Russia and India. The visit aims to strengthen bilateral naval relations between India and Russia, as also to explore new avenues for naval cooperation,” the Indian Navy said.
The Russian Navy Chief will tour the Western Naval Command and Mazagon Docks in Mumbai. This visit is happening as Russia is in the process of building two guided-missile frigates for India. However, due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, there have been significant delays in the delivery of these frigates and the remaining two squadrons of the five S-400 Triumf air defence missile systems for the Indian Air Force, which is causing some concerns.
Team BharatShakti
