Moscow, July 8

By IDI

To overcome the US imposed sanctions on the Russian defence exports, India and Russia have created a payment system which will not be vulnerable to any international sanction, said a Russian official. 

Calling the payment issue one of the most important issue, the Deputy Director of Russia’s Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Vladimir Drozzhov, said, “on the big contract that we have signed with India last year, we have agreed upon on the methods of payment that are mutually acceptable to both side.”
“For big contracts like the S400, we have found a permanent solution for the payments,” he added. The payment system will ensure that there are no delays in the delivery schedule of the contracts.
Since October last year, India has ordered for over $ 14 billion worth of weapons which includes, assault rifles, S-400 long-range surface-to-air missile system, fighter jets, frigates, helicopters, a nuclear submarine, and ammunition of various kinds.
Declining to share the fine details of the payment system, he said that there will be some nuances in the different contracts but the solution is permanent.
Speaking on the initial payment made by India for S-400, he said, “It has not come so far.”
On the imposition of sanction on India, he opined that they are bad for countries that introduce them as well. 
Talking on the possibility of imposition of sanction on the recently released big ticket tenders like 110 fighter and six conventional submarines, he opined that “we are realistic that sanctions will be used as an instrument to try to kick us out of them.”
“We have already found a solution for S400 and Frigates and setting up of two joint ventures, so I am absolutely optimistic to find a way to get through with the upcoming tenders.
India is expected to receive its first S400 system within two years of the initial payment. All five systems are expected to be delivered by 2024.
Calling the defence relation as the backbone of the India-Russia bilateral relations, he said that Russia is interested in working on long term projects together with India.
“We are fully supportive of Make in India and we continue to work on some projects in this framework especially in the field of after sales support,” Drozzhov said. 
Recently, a working group meeting for the after sales support was conducted and Russia has signed an inter-governmental agreement on joint production of spare parts of Russian equipment in India.