UK will help India build fighters to lessen dependence on Russia

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced Friday that his country would support Indian efforts to build its own fighter planes as part of an effort to reduce the South Asian polity's dependence on Russian arms.

The comments came during Johnson's visit to New Delhi, according to the Epoch Times.

Johnson added that London would create a general export license for India to ease the delivery of defense-related goods.

Currently, only the European Union and the United States possess such licenses.

India maintains one of the world's largest militaries in part due to ongoing border conflicts with neighbors China and Pakistan. Delhi draws much of its war material from Russian suppliers and is also a major consumer of Russian energy products. India has continued to purchase Russian oil amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

India President Narendra Modi's government has largely maintained a neutral stance on Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. His government abstained from the vote to expel Russia from the United Nations Human Rights Council and has earned praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for assessing "the situation in its entirety, not just in a one-sided way."

India has, however, condemned apparent Russian atrocities during the war.

Johnson acknowledged the longstanding relationship between Delhi and Moscow, saying in a press conference that "The position on Russia that the Indians have historically is well known. They are not going to change that, of course, that’s true," according to the Times.

He also express optimism at the prospect for closer ties between the UK and India. “But they can see what is going on and there is an increasing appetite to do more with the UK,” Johnson also said.

The Indian government asserted that Johnson did not attempt to dissuade Modi from his current position on Russia but that the pair discussed the situation in Ukraine at length.

“Prime Minister Johnson shared his perspective on it, Prime Minister Modi shared ours – which is that the Russia-Ukraine war should end immediately,” Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla said. “There was no pressure of any kind.”