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sian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said, adding that India’s national oil company ONGC is participating in the Sakhalin 1 gas project and is in the process of formalising the company’s shareholding now, Novak added.
Russia and India are exploring the pos- sibility of expanding cooperation in the gas sector, including through increase of gas supplies, Novak told reporters. Russia already delivers liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the volume of around 3mn tonnes per year (tpy) to India, and the volume may be increased in the future, according to Novak who took part in the Russian-Indian talks.
"First, LNG [amounting to] 3mn tpd is already supplied now. This is Russian gas, from Russian projects. Second, fundamentally, there are prospects of expanding cooperation in the gas sector and supplies of Russian gas," he said, adding that the issue is not only about increase of LNG supplies.
The share of natural gas in India’s energy balance is to grow from 6.5% in 2020 to 15% by 2030. In absolute terms, this may mean growth from current 60bn cubic metres to 115 bcm in 2030.
Energy security is not limited to the oil trade; India has already put into opera- tion the first and second power units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant (NPP), which is being built with Russian assistance. Uranium is the new gas and the Kremlin has been using exports of its world-class nuclear technology, and the 60-year fuel and maintenance con- tracts, as a way to bind its partners more closely to Russia.
Russia has extended an offer to collabo- rate with India on the construction of small tropical NPPs, with a proposal for deep localisation that includes transfer- ring the construction segment to New Delhi, according to Alexey Likhachev, chief executive officer of the state-run corporation Rosatom.
"We offer cooperation possibilities
for construction of tropical stations," Likhachev said during a visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Atom pavilion, "with very deep localisa- tion," he added, stressing the potential for transferring the entire construction process to India. "We can transfer the whole construction part to you," he
told Modi.
The nuclear sector has been a corner- stone of Russia-India relations. Power units No. 1 and No. 2 of the Kudankulam NPP, constructed with Russian assis- tance since 1998, are already opera- tional. Construction of power units No. 3, No. 4, No. 5, and No. 6 is ongoing, with completion expected by 2027. Addition- ally, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs is exploring sites for further facilities. In December 2021, New Delhi committed to providing a location for the construction of a second Russia- designed NPP.
Ukraine war and weapons
The war in Ukraine did feature in the talks, with Modi offering his condo- lences to those that lost their lives in Russia’s massive missile attack on Kyiv on July 8. In an embarrassing moment, Modi singled out the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital in Kyiv that was hit during the attack, for which the Kremlin has denied responsibility.
“I know that war cannot solve problems, solutions and peace talks can't succeed among bombs, guns and bullets. And we need to find a way to peace through dialogue,” Modi told Putin in televised remarks at the Kremlin.
However, Modi did not push hard on the Ukraine question and India has been holding a neutral position on Rus-
sia’s special military operation. Indian experts told bne IntelliNews that any dis- cussions of Ukraine will probably be low key, as Modi doesn’t want to get dragged into that conflict, where overt support for Russia will damage his otherwise good relations with Washington.
One of the factors staying Modi’s hand is India’s ongoing dependence on Russia to equip its own army. Kwatra highlighted defence cooperation between the two states as "an important segment of the privileged strategic partnership." He
stressed that the countries remain in full contact on this issue.
India is in the process of buying Russia’s advanced S-400 air defence system
that it intends to deploy on both its eastern and western borders, where it has uneasy relations with China and Pakistan respectively. The S-400 is Russia’s most advanced surface-to-air missile and considered to be world-class defensive weapons system.
Russia and India view military and military-technical cooperation as a cornerstone of their privileged partner- ship and will develop it further, accord- ing to a joint statement adopted after the results of the 22nd Russian-Indian annual summit on Tuesday, 9 July.
"In view of India’s aspiration for self-suf- ficiency, the partnership will currently refocus on joint R&D and experimental design work, the joint development
and production of advanced defence technologies and systems," the state- ment reads.
"The parties reaffirmed their intention to increase the number of joint measures in military cooperation and expand mili- tary delegation exchanges," it says.
India and Russia are also discussing cooperation in a space programme.
The last time Modi visited Russia was in 2019 to participate in the Eastern Eco- nomic Forum. In turn, Putin was in India on a visit in 2021. In total, the Russian leader visited India nine times during his tenure at the top post. In accordance with the Declaration of Strategic Partner- ship of 2000, the leaders of Russia and India must meet annually and this meet- ing will the 22nd in the series.
Modi has stated he will come in Russia again in October to attend a BRICS sum- mit in Kazan, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"Narendra Modi said that he is glad to accept [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin’s invitation and will take part in the BRICS summit in Kazan this Octo- ber," he said.
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