Gorshkov row ends, India-Russia to finalise deal

Moscow, Dec 8: India and Russia have ended the deadlock over contentious price and technical issues for the Admiral Gorshkov aircraft carrier.

Speaking to reporters, Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao said, "There has been excellent progress in negotiations on technical issues and there has been a successful conclusion."

Details of the final price fixed for the sale of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya were not disclosed.

According to Indian officials, a price satisfactory to both sides has been worked out for the refitting and delivery of Admiral Gorshkov.

Indian and Russian defence officials have been negotiating the price for the purchase of the refurbished USD 2.2-billion aircraft carrier for several years.

Moscow was asking for USD 2.9 billion for the aircraft carrier, nearly thrice the price that was originally agreed between the two sides in 2004. But New Delhi wanted the price to be scaled back to USD 2.1 billion.

OneIndia News