US knows India, Russia are natural allies, Indian Defence Minister says friendship persists
*No damage to India-US relations — Defense Ministry
India and Russia are ‘natural allies’, but this relationship does not negatively affect the country’s cooperation with the United States, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said in an exclusive interview with the Hindustan Times.
“I don’t think Russia will affect India-US ties. The US knows that India and Russia are natural allies and that our relationship is very stable. India will also be very careful to ensure that core US national interests are not harmed by our relations with any other country in the world,” the newspaper quoted Singh as saying on Tuesday.
Speaking about whether Russia will be able to meet its obligations to India to supply spare parts and equipment already purchased by India amid the conflict in Ukraine, Singh said he ruled out the impact of that conflict on India’s national security preparedness. “I don’t agree that there will be any problems for our national security. India is not a weak country. India has the strength to deal with it if there is a problem. But as far as Russia and Ukraine are concerned, we do want peace,” the Indian defense chief added.
When asked whether India was considering further diversification of its defense procurement after the start of Russia’s operation in Ukraine, Singh said succinctly, “Wait and see.”
A ‘two-plus-two’ India-US meeting was held in Washington on Monday, attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh.
TASS (Aside the headline, news content remained as published by TASS News Agency)
