Cablegate: Delhi Diary, August 22-30
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SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, AUGUST 22-30
1. (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from
Embassy New Delhi for August 22-30, 2007 that did not feature
in our other reporting, including:
-- Narayanan in Moscow for Defense Talks
-- India and Russia to Conduct Indra 2007 War Games in Russia
in September
Narayanan in Moscow for Defense Talks
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2. (SBU) National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan arrived in
Moscow August 27 for high level defense talks. In an August
28 meeting with Acting Secretary of the Russian Security
Council, Valentin Sobolev, Narayanan reportedly agreed to
enhance cooperation between the two countries, national
security councils in view of new challenges to global
security, citing Afghanistan as an area needing greater
coordination. According to media reports, Narayanan met
August 29 with Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to counter
recent Russian chicanery in several recent mega-price tag
defense sales to India, such as Russia ex post facto hiking
the contract price for SU-30 fighters by USD two billion and
the refurbishment of the aircraft carrier Gorshkov by USD 113
million, as well as the expected many months delay of the
Gorshkov to India. Narayanan also discussed nuclear
cooperation. Narayanan,s visit will be followed by Indian
Army Chief J.J. Singh,s September 15-19 visit for defense
and security talks with top Russian brass. A likely topic of
discussion would be the proposed Indo-Russian
joint-production of a fifth generation fighter plane. Indian
Defense Minister A.K. Antony, in a written reply to the
Indian parliament on August 22, stated that &co-development
of the fifth generation fighter plane has been identified as
an important area of cooperation.8 These talks set the
stage for the Seventh Annual Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental
Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC)
between the two Defense Ministers, scheduled for October,
2007.
India and Russia to Conduct Indra 2007 War Games in Russia in
September
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3. (U) For the first time ever, Indian troops will conduct
joint military exercises on Russian soil September 19 while
participating in INDRA 2007. The INDRA joint exercises
between India and Russia have been held biennially since
2003. The naval portion of INDRA 2007 was conducted by
Indian and Russian naval ships in the Sea of Japan in April.
For September,s games, Indian paratroopers will travel to
Pskov, at the headquarters of Russia,s elite airborne
division, to conduct joint anti-terrorism exercises with
their Russian counterparts.
WHITE