DELHI DIARY, AUGUST 22-30

UNCLAS NEW DELHI 003972 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV MARR MASS MOPS RS IN SUBJECT: DELHI DIARY, AUGUST 22-30 ¶1. (U) Below is a compilation of political highlights from Embassy New Delhi for August 22-30, 2007 that did not feature in our other reporting, including: -- Narayanan in Moscow for Defense Talks -- India and Russia to Conduct Indra 2007 War Games in Russia in September Narayanan in Moscow for Defense Talks -------------- ¶2. (SBU) National Security Advisor M.K. Narayanan arrived in Moscow August 27 for high level defense talks. In an August 28 meeting with Acting Secretary of the Russian Security Council, Valentin Sobolev, Narayanan reportedly agreed to enhance cooperation between the two countries, national security councils in view of new challenges to global security, citing Afghanistan as an area needing greater coordination. According to media reports, Narayanan met August 29 with Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov to counter recent Russian chicanery in several recent mega-price tag defense sales to India, such as Russia ex post facto hiking the contract price for SU-30 fighters by USD two billion and the refurbishment of the aircraft carrier Gorshkov by USD 113 million, as well as the expected many months delay of the Gorshkov to India. Narayanan also discussed nuclear cooperation. Narayanan,s visit will be followed by Indian Army Chief J.J. Singh,s September 15-19 visit for defense and security talks with top Russian brass. A likely topic of discussion would be the proposed Indo-Russian joint-production of a fifth generation fighter plane. Indian Defense Minister A.K. Antony, in a written reply to the Indian parliament on August 22, stated that &co-development of the fifth generation fighter plane has been identified as an important area of cooperation.8 These talks set the stage for the Seventh Annual Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) between the two Defense Ministers, scheduled for October, ¶2007. India and Russia to Conduct Indra 2007 War Games in Russia in September -------------- ¶3. (U) For the first time ever, Indian troops will conduct joint military exercises on Russian soil September 19 while participating in INDRA 2007. The INDRA joint exercises between India and Russia have been held biennially since ¶2003. The naval portion of INDRA 2007 was conducted by Indian and Russian naval ships in the Sea of Japan in April. For September,s games, Indian paratroopers will travel to Pskov, at the headquarters of Russia,s elite airborne division, to conduct joint anti-terrorism exercises with their Russian counterparts. WHITE