*NEW DELHI- There is unrest in India with the news that *Pakistan is intalks with Russia to buy similar types of air defence hardware and mainbattle tanks that Russia has been exporting to other nations, Pakistan’sdefence minister Khurram Dastgir Khan has told Russia’s Sputnik newsagency. The Pakistani minister claimed in the interview that his countryhas been working to increase cooperation with Kremlin.
“We are interested in T-90 tanks and it is not going to be a one-timepurchase but it is going to be a long-term commitment,” Mr Khan said.
The Indian Army also useslink>theT-90 main battle tanks or MBT, which are lighter and more agile than MBTsof other nations, NDTV has reported.
Though the Pakistani minister did not say what kind of air defence missileIslamabad is looking to buy from Russia, there has been speculation thatPakistan may request hard to get hold of the long-range S-400 air defencemissile.
India has already signed a deallink>withRussia to buy the advanced air defence system. In October 2016, PrimeMinister Narendra Modi signed a deal with Russian President Vladimir Putinto acquire the S-400 ‘Triumph’ anti-missile defence system, which can hitair targets 400 kilometres away — making it the longest range air defencemissile in the world.
The Indian Army also uses the modern T-90 main battle tanksNew US sanctions against Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport willnot affect the negotiations between Russia and India on the supply of S-400missiles, a person with direct knowledge of the matter told Sputnik onFriday.
Pakistan is also purportedly considering buying the S-400 anti-aircraftmissiles, a high-ranking Pakistani military official told Russian statemedia in February.
“Air defence system is a different kind of weapon we are interested. We arevery much interested in a very wide range of the Russian weaponstechnology. We are in negotiations (on air defence systems) and once weconclude negotiations, we will be able to announce them,” Mr Khan said.
He claimed that Pakistan and Russia, former Cold War foes, have nowdeveloped a mutual understanding on several international issues. “Ofcourse we have a history of the Afghan war in which we have been onopposite sides, but now as the second decade of the 21st century ends, wewill be able to look at world realities with a different eye,” Mr Khan said.
Russia had supported Pakistan in its bid for membership to the ShanghaiCooperation Organisation, which it joined last year.