By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Moscow : Russia and India will begin their joint INDRA-2012 anti-terror military exercises in the Siberian republic of Buryatia Sunday, a Russian military official said.
The drills will be held at the Burduny training range until Aug 16, the spokesman for Russia’s Eastern Military District said.
Some 500 servicemen – about 250 on each side – will take part in the drills, which will be conducted using Russian-made combat vehicles.
Since 2003, India and Russia have conducted five INDRA-series joint ground and naval exercises. The last such exercise was held in India in October 2010.
Russia cancelled the exercises last year.
India is the world’s largest arms importer and a key buyer of Russian weaponry. In 2007-2011, India purchased some $12.7 billion in arms, 80 percent of that from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).