India’s Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved the procurement of four frigates from Russia at a cost of around $2 billion. While two of them are being purchased directly from Russia for $950 million, the other two will be built in India under a separate deal, which is expected later this year.
The two frigates which are almost fully built at Russia’s Yantar Shipyard at Kaliningrad, will be equipped with M7N.1E gas turbine engines from Ukraine, for which India has already inked a separate agreement.
The two frigates were originally designed to be fitted with Ukraine-built gas turbine engines but after Crimea’s reunification with Russia, Moscow stopped importing the engines from Ukraine, rendering the ships of little use to the Russian Navy.
“Given that the US has implemented sanctions on weapons purchases from Moscow, India could make payments for the ships using the rupee-ruble route,” the Economic Times reported.
India was making a strong case before Russia to avoid payments in US dollars for the purchase of goods, including defense equipment. Sources claimed that a senior government official at the country’s Ministry of External Affairs met Russian officials last week, and discussions were held at length about payments for Russian imports.