West sanctions won't affect India-Russia defence partnership: BrahMos chief

The India-Russia defence partnership will "never" be disrupted by the Western sanctions on Moscow, BrahMos Aerospace chief said on Wednesday, saying it's the "trust" that makes this partnership work.

The West, led by the US, has imposed crippling sanctions on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

BrahMos Aerospace is a joint venture between India and Russia that specialises in nuclear-capable supersonic missiles.

The company currently manufactures the BrahMos missile and is currently developing the BrahMos II, a hypersonic cruise missile.

The West's attempts will not stop the Russia-India defence partnership, nor will it impact the company's operations, BrahMos Aerospace Indo-Russian Joint Venture Managing Director and CEO Atul Dinkar Rane told TASS, the official news agency of Russia. "My personal gut feeling it is never!" Rane said when asked whether Western countries could halt India-Russia defence and security cooperation.

"And if someone tries, he will only fail. The relationship between the Indian scientists and Russian technologists is so deep right now that it's not going to be possible to break it. Even if someone tells us by law no more talking with Russia, you will start talking to someone else but we'll always say it was easier to work with the Russians," Tass quoted him as saying.

Rane asserted it is the trust between India and Russia that will help this partnership work despite sanctions from the West.

"The trust which we have developed between the two partners, that trust is good enough for us to work, and we are working forward -- despite all these sanctions," Rane said.

Russia has traditionally been India's main arms supplier.

Unlike many other leading Western powers, India has not directly criticised Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and it abstained from a vote at the UN platforms in condemning the Russian aggression.

India has been pressing for the resolution of the crisis through diplomacy and dialogue.

Rane also said that many foreign countries express their interest in purchasing various versions of the BrahMos cruise missile.

The Philippines is the first order that we got, Rane said, adding that five countries have currently placed their orders.

So far, I can say that they are from South East Asia, the Middle East and Latin America.

He added that BrahMos Aerospace plans to start shipping missiles to the Philippines in the middle or the second half of this year.