Rajnath Singh heads to Moscow again; won't meet Chinese countepart in 3-day SCO meet

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday left for Moscow on a three-day visit to Russia where he will attend Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Defence Ministers’ meeting. ANI sources said that Raksha Mantri will t meet with his Chinese counterpart in SCO meeting.

'Looking forward to furring this partnership' 

Before leaving to Moscow, Rajnath Singh took to Twitter to inform about his visit and said that be attending combined meeting of Defence Ministers of SCO, Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) & CIS members in commemoration of 75th Anniversary of victory in World War II.

"I shall also be meeting Russia’s Defence Minister, General Shoigu to discuss bilateral cooperation and issues of mutual interest. India and Russia are privileged Strategic Partners. Looking forward to furring this partnership during my visit," he said in ar tweet.

Meeting in wake of rising tensions along LAC

Defence Minister's visit comes just days after India withdrew from a multilateral war game to be held in Russia, and expected to be attended by Chinese and Pakistani troops. SCO Defence Ministers' meeting is taking place in wake of fresh tension between India and China following Chinese army's unsuccessful attempts to alter status quo on sourn bank of Pangong lake in eastern Lakh.

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It will be Singh's second visit to Moscow since June. He h represented India at Victory Day Pare in Moscow on June 24 that commemorated 75th anniversary of Soviet victory over Nazi Germany in Second World War. Russia has also invited External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to attend SCO foreign ministers' meeting on September 10.

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In his bilateral meeting with Russian Defence Minister Shoigu, Singh is likely to press for early supply of various weapons and spares to Indian armed forces under defence contracts concluded earlier, PTI reported. In talks, both sides are expected to officially finalise a long-pending proposal to produce AK 203 rifles in India.

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Officials said Singh is also likely to request Russian side to ensure timely delivery of S-400 missile defence systems to India. delivery of first batch of S-400 surface-to-air missile systems to India is scheduled by end of 2021.

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