India’s defense minister attended the commissioning of his country’s latest naval vessel at a Russian shipyard on Monday, hailing it as a “significant milestone” in ties with a longtime defense ally.
India’s Defense Minister Rajnath Singh attended the commissioning ceremony of the country’s latest multipurpose stealth guided missile frigate, INS Tushil, at the Baltic port of Kaliningrad.
“The ship is a proud testament to India’s growing maritime power and an important milestone in the long-standing bilateral relationship with Russia,” Singh posted on X.
The Tushil, or “Shield” in English, weighs 3,900 tons and carries “an impressive mix of cutting-edge Russian and Indian technologies,” the defense ministry said in New Delhi last week.
He also said that the ship will arrive in India in “almost combat-ready condition” as all the Russian equipment on board had already been successfully tested.
New Delhi has walked a diplomatic tightrope since the start of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, pledging humanitarian support to Kiev while avoiding outright condemnation of Russia’s attack.
In October at the BRICS summit in Kazan, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi repeated his calls for a quick end to the fighting in a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Putin praised what he called Russia and India’s “privileged strategic partnership” and pledged to build ties further.
Modi visited Kiev in August and Moscow in July in a bid to encourage talks as India emerged as a potential mediator in the conflict.
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