Buying Russian Weapons ‘Rubbed US the Wrong Way; Trade Deal with India Soon’: Howard Lutnick

US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick today commented that India's traditional dependency on Russia for military gear has soured Washington's relationship with New Delhi previously. He, however, reiterated that a trade agreement between the two nations could be finalised in the “not-too-distant future.”

"There were certain things that the Indian government did that generally rubbed the United States the wrong way. For instance, you generally buy your military gear from Russia. That's a way to kind of get under the skin of America if you're going to buy your armaments from Russia," new agency ANI quoted Lutnick while speaking at the eighth US-India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington, DC.

"I think India is starting to move towards buying military equipment from the United States, which then goes a long way. And these kinds of things just create that relationship being a part of BRICS, which is, oh, let's move to not support the dollar and dollar hegemony. That's not really the way to make friends and influence people in America," he added.

Lutnick also asserted that India addressed these concerns specifically and that helped mend the soured relationship between both the nations.

Lutnick's comments came just hours after Russia confirmed that India will receive the remaining units of the S-400 air defence system by next year. India signed a $5.43bn deal with Russia in 2018 for five squadrons of the S-400 Triumf missile system, a state-of-the-art air defence platform capable of engaging multiple aerial threats at long ranges. Three squadrons have already been delivered.

Russian Deputy Chief of Mission in India, Roman Babushkin, also asserted that Moscow is open to promoting its partnership with New Delhi for the discussion of the expansion of dialogue on air defence systems.

Defence cooperation is an important pillar of the India-Russia strategic partnership. It is guided by the Agreement on the Programme for Military Technical Cooperation signed between the two countries. The Agreement for 2021-2031 was signed during the inaugural meeting of India-Russia 2+2 Dialogue, which was held in Delhi on 6th December 2021. In March, the Defence Ministry informed that India has signed a $248mn contract with Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport to acquire more powerful engines for its Soviet-era battle tanks.

Meanwhile, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington earlier this year, India and the US have announced that they will conclude the first phase of a mega trade pact by this year and set a target of $500bn in annual trade by 2030. Under the deal, both countries also agreed to advance defence ties further, announcing plans to sign this year a new ten-year Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership in the 21st Century.