Belousov noted the successful development of military cooperation between Russia and India

The level of military cooperation between Russia and India is successfully developing in multilateral formats and on a permanent basis. This was stated by Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov during talks with his Indian counterpart Rajnath Singh on December 10.

"We are satisfied with the good level of cooperation between Russia and India on the military line in multilateral formats, primarily within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and meetings of defense ministers of ASEAN member countries," Belousov said.

According to the Russian defense minister, trusting relations between the leaders of the two countries play a key role in strengthening Russia-India cooperation. He also thanked Singh for his visit to Moscow for the 21st meeting of the Russian-Indian intergovernmental commission on military and military-technical cooperation.

"We are always happy to see Indian colleagues in Russia. We are determined to implement all the agreements reached at the highest level. I am convinced that our meeting will contribute to further strengthening of Russian-Indian relations in the field of defense and security," Belousov concluded.

The head of the Indian Defense Ministry arrived in Russia on an official visit the day before, the embassy of the republic in Moscow reported in its Telegram channel. The report said that during the visit the minister will hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin, will co-chair the intergovernmental commission on military and military-technical cooperation between India and Russia with Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov.

On December 9, the Indian defense minister took part in the ceremonial handover of the Project 11356 Tushil ("Shield") frigate to the Indian Navy in Kaliningrad. On December 10, Singh laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Alexandrovsky Garden in Moscow.

On June 21, the Russian government approved the signing of an agreement between Russia and India on the mutual dispatch of troops, warships and aircraft on the territories of the two countries. The project was preliminarily worked out with the Indian side. On August 23, a delegation of the Russian Defense Ministry discussed with Indian counterparts during an official visit to the country the possibilities of expanding naval cooperation between the two countries.

Prior to that, on February 19, ships of the Pacific Fleet of the Russian Navy - the Varyag guards missile cruiser of the Order of Nakhimov and the Marshal Shaposhnikov frigate - participated in the international multilateral naval exercise MILAN-2024, which was held in India. For training, Russian sailors visited the Indian port of Vishakhapatnam and spent more than a week there. In addition to the exercises, the naval personnel of the Talnakh Conventional Naval Forces took part in sports and cultural programs.