The US is preparing a big military aid package to increase defense cooperation with India. People familiar with the matter say that its aim is to reduce India’s dependence on Russia for weapons. This package will also include foreign military finance assistance of $ 500 million. If this happens, then India will become the third country in this matter after Israel and Egypt. However, it is not clear when the deal will be announced and which weapons will be involved.
A senior US official said that in the midst of the Ukraine crisis, the US has imposed several sanctions on Russia and is trying to isolate it. In such a situation, Joe Biden’s administration will try to undermine the long defense agreement between India and Russia. America wants India to trust America more than Russia in defense cooperation. With the help of France, America is trying to tell Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government what weapons India needs.
On the challenge of providing fighter jets, naval ships and battle tanks to India, the official said that Joe Biden’s administration is planning to start through one of these. According to Bloomberg, when the US Embassy officials in New Delhi were contacted, they did not comment on the matter.
Let us tell you that at present India is the largest buyer of Russian weapons in the world. In the last 10 years, India has bought more than $ 4 billion worth of defense equipment from the US. At the same time, India has done more than $ 25 billion deal with Russia in the same period. Self-reliance on Russia for defense equipment is the main reason why India refrains from criticizing Russia for the Ukraine crisis.