News Inputs By Mike Baruah, Our USA And Canada Senior Correspondent.
The effort is part of a much larger initiative by President Joe Biden’s administration to court India as a long-term security partner, despite its reluctance to criticize Russia for its invasion of Ukraine, according to a senior US official who asked not to be named.
Washington wants to be seen as a reliable partner for India across the board, the official added, and the administration is working with other nations including France to make sure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has the equipment it needs. While India is already diversifying its military platforms away from Russia, the US wants to help make that happen faster, the official said.
The major challenge remains how to provide India major platforms like fighter jets, naval ships and battle tanks, the official said, adding that the administration is looking for a breakthrough in one of these areas. The financing package being discussed would do little to make those types of systems — which can cost billions or tens of billions of dollars — more affordable, but it would be a significant symbolic sign of support.
India’s Foreign Ministry didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials at the State Department and US embassy in New Delhi didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
India is the world’s largest buyer of Russian weapons, although it has scaled back that relationship of late.
Over the past decade, India has bought more than $4 billion worth of military equipment from the US and more than $25 billion from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
