US discourages India’s reliance on Russia for defence needs: Pentagon

Washington, Apr 23 (PTI) The United States discourages India to rely on Russia for its defence needs, the Pentagon said Friday.

“We’ve been very clear with India as well as other nations that we don’t want to see them rely on Russia for defence needs. We’ve been nothing but honest about that and discouraging that,” Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby told reporters at a news conference here.

“At the same time, we also value the defence partnership that we have with India. And as was evidenced a week ago, we’re looking at ways to improve that going forward. That’s going to continue because it matters and it’s important,” he said.

“India is a provider of security in the region and we value that,” Kirby said.