रूसी संसद में भारत से रक्षा समझौते पर वोटिंग आज: पुतिन के दौरे से पहले मंजूरी मिलेगी; एक-दूसरे के सैन्य ठिकानों का इस्तेमाल कर सकेंगे

Voting on the defense agreement with India will take place today in the Duma, the lower parliament of the Russian Parliament. (file photo)

Voting will take place today in the State Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, to approve the defense agreement with India. Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) was signed between the two countries in February this year. Now this agreement is going to be approved before the visit of President Vladimir Putin to India.

RELOS is a logistics support agreement. Its purpose is to ease coordination between the armies of the two countries. Under this, both the countries will be helped in using each other’s military facilities in military exercises, disaster relief and other joint operations.

The agreement was signed on 18 February 2025 by Vinay Kumar, India’s Ambassador to Moscow, and Alexander Fomin, the then Deputy Defense Minister of Russia. This will further strengthen military cooperation between India and Russia.

The picture is of Indian Ambassador Vinay Kumar and the then Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin.

Why is the RELOS agreement special?

RELOS is considered to be one of the most important defense agreements ever in the strategic partnership between the two countries. This is a defense logistics exchange agreement.

Under this, the armies of India and Russia will be able to use each other’s military bases, ports, airfields and supply points.

This use will be only for purposes like refueling, repair, stock refill, medical support, transit and movement.

India has signed similar agreements with America (LEMOA), France, Australia, Singapore, South Korea and many other countries. Now Russia is also joining it.

Why is Russia approving this now?

Putin is going to visit India on Thursday this week. Defense cooperation and military exercises will be the main issues in the annual meeting between India and Russia.

After this agreement was signed in February, it has not yet received the approval of the Russian Parliament. Under Russia’s systematic process, parliamentary approval is necessary. That is why voting is being done on this before Putin’s visit to India.

Most focus will be on defense agreement

In this visit of Putin, the biggest focus will be on defense agreement. Russia has already said that it is ready to provide its SU-57 stealth fighter jet to India.

This is Russia’s most advanced fighter aircraft. India is already exploring new options to strengthen its Air Force fleet.

Apart from this, discussions are expected on future plans like cooperation on S-500, next version of BrahMos missile and jointly building warships for the navies of both the countries.

Expected to buy Russian S-400 missile defense system

According to news agency PTI, India may be in talks to buy some more S-400 missile defense systems from Russia. Because it was very effective during ‘Operation Sindoor’ against Pakistan.

A deal for five such systems had already been made, out of which India has received 3. Delivery of the fourth squadron is on hold due to the Russia–Ukraine war.

S-400 Triumph is Russia’s advanced missile system, which was launched in 2007. This system can destroy fighter jets, ballistic and cruise missiles, drones and even stealth aircraft.

It acts like a strong shield to protect against various threats in the air. It is counted among the most modern air defense systems of the world.

There is more news…