MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The four-nation European Aeronautic Defense and Space consortium (EADS) reaffirmed its proposal to offer Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft to India if its long-disputed deal to acquire French Rafale jets falls through, German Ambassador to India Michael Steiner said Wednesday.
"The consortium stands ready with their proposal. The governments of the four nations are supporting this proposal because they are convinced it is a good one both in terms of quality of the product and price," the diplomat was quoted as saying by the Indian news outlet Odisha Sun Times.
The statement comes just days before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Germany which is set to begin on Sunday. Earlier today, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Indian Foreign Secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs, told reporters that the talks on India's planned purchase of French Rafale fighters are still underway.
In 2012, India chose France's Dassault Aviation to supply it with 126 Rafale fighter jets, turning down the proposal from the producers of the Eurofighter Typhoon. The fighter jets are jointly produced by United Kingdom, Germany Spain and Italy.
However, the project has been put on hold due to high costs and Dassault's unwillingness to guarantee the performance of Rafale aircraft produced in India under transfer of technology agreements.
