Barriers to Defense Ties With Russia 'Mere Speculation' – India Foreign Ministry

DAVOS (Sputnik) - Reports on disagreements between Russia and India in the area of defense industry cooperation are based on speculation and the two states maintain strong ties in defense cooperation and are developing a partnership on transfers of technology, Mobashar Jawed Akbar, Indian minister of state for external affairs, told Sputnik.

"Please do not go by speculation. India and Russia remain the strongest friends, we have great committments in our defense partnership. We are also working very strongly on other important issues that will define our future, including transfer of technology," the minister said.

Indian media have been reporting recently on the alleged growing differences in defense industry cooperation between Russia and India.

READ MORE: India to Buy Smart Bombs Worth $200 Mln From Russia — Defense Ministry

Late in 2017, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu emphasized that Russian-Indian defense cooperation was developing intensively amid warm bilateral relations and that Russian-Indian cooperation is based on common approaches to solving challenging global problems.

India could become the third foreign buyer of new Russian S-400 air defense missile systems alongside China and Turkey with talks on the system's supply ongoing.