Condemning “double standards” in the fight against terrorism, India and Russia on Wednesday called for “collective efforts to combat terrorism.”
The remarks were made by Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and his Russian counterpart General Sergey Shoigu at the beginning of the 16th session of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission for military and technical cooperation held on Wednesday.
Taking note of Russia’s efforts to eliminate terrorists in West Asia, Mr. Parrikar said one of the key security challenges faced by India is that of cross-border terrorism.
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“We appreciate Russia’s consistent and unwavering support for India in our efforts to eliminate this menace, which is a manifestation of the continued presence of terrorist groups in India’s neighbourhood,” he said in his opening remarks.
Gen. Shoigu said that terrorists cannot go from being terrorists on Monday to being moderate opposition on Tuesday with reference to the developments in Syria.
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“What is absolutely unacceptable in terms of the fight against terrorism is the use of the double or even, at times, triple standards…. The serious consolidation of all reasonable powers is necessary to fight this 21st century’s evil,” he stated.
“We both recognise that the menace of terrorism cannot be defeated with double standards,” Mr. Parrikar added.
The Russian Defence Ministry said in a statement that Gen. Shoigu had invited Indian specialists to participate in the Army-2017 international military and technical forum.
“He also suggested holding joint exercises of engineer troops of both countries aimed at humanitarian mine-clearing on the base of the Russian International Mine Action Centre, the specialists of which had taken part in mine-clearing operation in Palmyra,” the statement added. India and Russia had reached agreements on major defence deals worth about $10 billion during the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin during the BRICS summit early this month.
Negotiations to conclude the final agreements based on the Inter-Governmental Agreements are now under way for five S-400 air defence systems and four Project 1135.6 follow-on Teg class stealth frigates. The status of the ongoing negotiations for the joint development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft was also reviewed.