📢 🇷🇺🇮🇳 Remarks by Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov at the News18 DEFCON-2026 Conference (24 September 2026)

Key points:

🤝#StrategicPartnership

Russia-India relations are based on a Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. India’s independent, multi-vector foreign policy and its “strategic autonomy” provide solid foundation for further development of bilateral ties. Russia respects India’s engagement with other international partners. Our cooperation serves the national interests of both countries and remains an important stabilising factor on the global stage.

📈 #Trade

Our common goal is to bring Russia-India bilateral trade to 100 billion US $ by 2030. Russia is India’s fourth-largest trading partner. In January-June 2026, bilateral trade increased by 15% to 38.4 billion US $. We are working to diversify and balance our trade, remove barriers, develop logistics and improve payment mechanisms. There are good prospects in industry, agriculture, civil aviation, nuclear energy, space and high technologies.

⚡ #Energy #Oil

Russia remains one of the major and reliable suppliers of energy resources to India. Russian supplies contribute to India’s energy security, support the utilisation of its oil refining capacities and help maintaining affordable fuel prices. India has repeatedly stressed that it decides for itself from whom and in what volumes it purchases energy resources. Despite sanctions pressure and threats of secondary restrictions, Moscow and New Delhi continue developing energy cooperation and adapting payment, insurance and transport and logistics mechanisms to the new conditions.

🛡️#Defence

Cooperation Defence and military-technical cooperation has historically been one of the driving forces of the Russia-India strategic partnership and has long moved beyond the traditional “customer-seller” model. The priority is technology transfer, deeper localisation, joint production and establishment of joint ventures in line with the “Make in India” and “Self-Reliant India” initiatives. Russia’s contractual obligations under the current order portfolio worth over 11 billion US $ are being fulfilled on schedule. Four out of five S-400 regimental sets have already been delivered, with the fifth planned for delivery by the end of 2026. Negotiations on the Su-57 are ongoing, including possible transfer of advanced technologies and localisation of assembly. The successful experience of the BrahMos joint venture can be expanded to new areas of high-tech cooperation.

🕊️ #UkraineCrisis

Russia stands for a political and diplomatic settlement of the Ukraine crisis and the achievement of a lasting peace rather than a temporary freezing of the conflict. For a sustainable settlement, Moscow considers it necessary to address the root causes of the crisis and develop legally binding security guarantees. The Russian side appreciates India's position in favour of dialogue and diplomacy and its contacts with all sides. Moscow is ready to continue the negotiation process with all those interested in finding a political and diplomatic solution.

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