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Russia has supplied India with weapons worth about $13 billion over the past five years, and India has ordered more than $10 billion worth of weapons and military equipment from Moscow, Reuters reported, citing Russian news agencies.

India is the largest buyer of Russian arms in the world - currently nearly 20 percent of Moscow's orders come from Delhi.

At the same time, India has so far not explicitly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi calls for dialogue and diplomacy to settle the conflict, writes BTA.

Many Western countries have imposed sanctions on Russia, including those affecting the arms sector, over the invasion, described by Moscow as a "special military operation".

India, China and some countries in Southeast Asia retain their interest in the purchase of Russian weapons, said the head of the Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation Dmitry Shugaev, quoted by Interfax.

"Despite unprecedented pressure on India from Western countries led by the US, it continues to be one of Russia's main partners in the field of military-technical cooperation," he said.

According to Interfax, annual arms exports amount to about 14-15 billion dollars, and orders have remained at the level of about 50 billion dollars.

Dmitry Medvedev: Russia will produce significantly more weapons in 2023.

Shugaev noted that Asian customers are particularly interested in Russian S-400 Triumf anti-missile defense systems, short-range surface-to-air missile systems such as Osa, Pechora or Strela, as well as combat aircraft. Su-30" and "MiG-29".

Another Russian defense official, quoted by Interfax, said that Russia is currently producing S-400 Triumf systems for India and intends to complete the deliveries on time.

Russia will present about 200 samples of weapons and military equipment during the international aerospace exhibition "Aero India 2023" in Bangalore, TASS reported.

India wants to more than triple annual defense exports from $1.5 billion now to $5 billion by 2024/2025, Modi said at the opening of the exhibition today, Reuters reported.

The country is looking to sign defense deals worth 750 billion rupees ($9 billion) during the five-day expo.

Modi said India, which for decades has been one of the largest importers of defense equipment, now exports to 75 countries.

Russia

India

supply of arms