Russia Assures India of Uninterrupted Supplies of S-400, Military Spare Parts Amid Western Sanctions

Russia began supplying S-400 air defence missile systems last December under a $5.43 billion deal signed during the India-Russia Annual Summit in 2016. The US and its allies have imposed sanctions on Russia in response to the continuing row between Moscow and NATO.

Russian Ambassador-designate to India Denis Alipov said on Wednesday that financial mechanisms are in place to avert Western sanctions on any transactions related to military hardware and spare parts for India.

"I don't foresee any obstacles regarding the supplies of S-400 to India. We have the mechanism and will continue the deal uninstructively. Sanctions don't interfere in the deal in any way, whether previous sanctions or newly imposed", Alipov said in a media briefing on Wednesday.

As two-thirds of Indian military platforms are of Russian/Soviet origin, there were media speculations that Western sanctions may impact Russian industries, and thus, could interrupt spare parts supplies to India's armed forces.

"Russia has always risen from ashes; it will rise again. I don't have any doubt about that. We have taken steps to secure ourselves to the utmost. Our economy is stable and will stand the pressure that we are experiencing and will experience in the future", Alipov, who is yet to present his credentials to the Indian president, assured.

The Russian diplomat mentioned that New Delhi and Moscow have a mechanism of cooperation and transactions independent of Western means to avert sanctions.

"We don't have worries about that. It is the question of adjusting to the current and future situation. It is easy to do", the Russian diplomat said.

Alipov, who spent years in India before his new role as ambassador, urged Indian exporters to consider trading in national currencies. Several of them are "over-cautious" due to their exposure to the European and US markets.

"We have the mechanism and means of doing business in national currencies bilaterally. Much will depend on the readiness of Indian partners to continue the business because some of them are over-cautious as regards the exposure to the US and European markets. I hope interest in the Russian market will remain; the opportunities are open there", he said.

Government data suggests that India’s annual exports to Russia are worth around $3 billion, and India imports more than $7 billion worth of goods from Russia each year.

'Will Give Safe Passage to Indian Nationals'

The Russian diplomat thanked India for taking a balanced position at the United Nations over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

"India understands the depth of the current crisis and not just the face value of it. The depth and reasons and [it] sees the whole situation in all its complexities. This is very important, so its stand has been so unbiased and balanced at the UN. We hope that India will continue to demonstrate such an approach", the ambassador-designate said.

India has abstained from voting on all the resolutions brought by the US or its allies over the Ukraine crisis. On Tuesday, Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said that India's position at the UN is based on specific cautious considerations.

"There is now the second or the third resolution in Security Council, there is the resolution in the UN General Assembly, and we will consider all of them in their entirety and take decisions in our best interests", Shringla underlined.

Russian Ambassador-designate Alipov has also said that New Delhi and Moscow are in touch as regards some 4,000 Indian citizens stuck in conflict zones in Kharkov, Sumy, and other north-eastern parts of Ukraine.

"We have received the Indian request for emergency evacuation of all those stuck there to the Russian territory", he said.

"We are now actively working on the ways and means to launch some operation to provide humanitarian corridors so that people have the secure passage to safety on the Russian territory", he added.

During his virtual presser, he expressed sympathy for Naveen Shekharappa Gyandagoudar and the "entire Indian nation" and announced that Moscow would investigate his death.

Naveen, a 21-year-old Indian student, died in Kharkov on Tuesday in shelling. He is the first Indian casualty during the ongoing Russian military operation in Ukraine.