Iran Press/ Asia: India views this as a confirmation of Russia’s course to support friends despite sanctions over Ukraine. Commentators in New Delhi assert that Russian missiles are designated to deflect China’s threat amid the territorial dispute between the two countries.
Allegedly, India has already started to deploy new weapons. According to other sources, the delivery of the second batch has been postponed, the India Today TV channel reported.
Associate Professor at Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African Studies Boris Volkhonsky told the newspaper that "India is under heavy pressure from Washington. First, US President Joe Biden told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the undesirability of purchasing arms from Russia. And then the same demand was put forth by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the head of the Pentagon during the 2+2 meeting with Indian officials in the US capital. Yet, they didn’t dare to impose sanctions on India, since Washington wants to make New Delhi its strategic partner in its confrontation with China."
Timofey Borisov, Editor-in-Chief at Arms Exports journal, told Nezavisimaya Gazeta that India had begun moving towards import substitution for a while now, but its implementation takes time, so it will continue to make purchases abroad. As for US sanctions, India will make decisions taking into account its own interests and not the external influence, the expert concluded.
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India seeks to circumvent Western sanctions against Russia
