Russia, India Sign Military Cooperation AccordRussia and India on Wednesday signed an accord on joint design and manufacture of a multi-purpose Ilyushin Il-214 military transport aircraft after a session of an interstate commission on military cooperation.Russian Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov, who heads the military-industrial sector in the government, told a press conference this plane "will be an early 21st century plane" and one of the most advanced jets in the world. According to him, India also agreed to a joint project for a fifth-generation combat plane, which is expected to be ready by 2007-2008. Besides, the two sides are ready to sign an accord within this year on Russia's sale to India of the aircraft-carrier Admiral Gorshkov, and India also showed interest in a Russian-proposed air defense system, said the Vice Premier. "There have been no such large-scale joint projects with anyone for Russia or India," he added. During the three-day session, Klebanov said, the sides reviewed progress of existing military agreements and outlined cooperation prospects and a special attention was paid to the implementation of a contract on the sale of Su-30MKI planes to India. The commission also signed a protocol on Russian-Indian cooperation in building advanced-technology submarines, he added. Visiting Indian Foreign and Defense Minister Jaswant Singh, who led the Indian delegation, said the commission had made a perceptible headway within the framework of strategic partnership and friendly relations between the two countries. He said the most important thing was to implement those agreements as soon as possible. |
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