MOSCOW (PTI): Russian president Boris Yeltsin on Feb.4 called for increased arms trade with India which he said was an “‘immense market” for Russian weapons. But “we still reduce the production and India is forced to turn to the west although it is ready not only to pay us in hard currency for armaments, military hardware and spare parts, but also to create joint production with us,” he told a government meeting, Itar-Tass News Agency reported.
“Did nobody know it before?” Yeltsin asked, referring to his recent visit to India.
The meeting was one of the several top level meetings called by Yeltsin to seek ways out of the country’s serious economic crisis.
Yeltsin said a system would be worked out soon to boost Russia’s arms exports to generate revenue. Prime Minister, Viktor Chernomyrdin, Rapped Viktor Glukhikh, Chairman of the Committee on defense industries, for poor analysis of the situation regarding the switchover of military factories to producing goods for the civilian sector.
The prime minister asked Glukhikh to prepare a thorough study and submit it soon, Tass said.
Article extracted from this publication >> February 12, 1993
