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Gorshkov deal not finalised: Russia

MOSCOW DEC. 2. The Russian Defence Ministry today denied reports about the finalisation of the much-awaited Gorshkov deal with India, saying that at least three questions still remained to be resolved.

``The final amount of the contract, as well as issues pertaining to the supply of foreign origin weapon systems and changes required in the ship's systems for their integration, are yet to be resolved,'' a Defence Ministry source was quoted as saying by the ITAR-TASS here.

Earlier, the Naval Chief, Madhvendra Singh, was reported to have said that the Gorshkov deal had been finalised and India would have to pay Rs. 3,000 crores for this Kiev class aircraft carrier. ``The proposal of the Indian partners for fitting a third-party air defence system on the ship was to an extent a surprise for the Russian side, as it would inevitably create the problem of its operational compatibility with the battle ship's combat systems,'' the Russian Ministry source was quoted saying.

According to earlier reports, India wanted to deploy Israeli Barak missiles on `Admiral Gorshkov,' which is to become the flagship of the Western Naval command after induction by the Navy.

— PTI

Refit cost

Vladimir Radyuhin reports:

According to a Russian defence expert, India and Russia must have agreed to the terms of a contract related to the refit of the Gorshkov, which roughly corresponds to the amount of Rs. 3,000 crores cited by the Naval Chief, Admiral Madhavendra Singh. "This involves the necessary repairs and upgrade of the vessel, including construction of an extended ramp to allow takeoff and landing of MiG-29K jet fighters," the expert, Konstantin Makienko, said.

"The cost of the aircraft and various weapon systems for the Gorshkov will be extra."

According to Russian sources, the overall value of the Gorshkov deal is estimated at $1.6 billion.

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