Johnson vows to stop UK exports to India ending up in Russia
Boris Johnson has said he will close loopholes to ensure UK exports to India cannot end up being used in Russian weapons, as he conceded the war in Ukraine could go on until the end of next year, and Russia could win.
Speaking in Delhi at the end of a two-day visit, the UK prime minister warned that Vladimir Putin was resorting to a “grinding approach” in Ukraine; and suggested the UK would help to “backfill” countries including Poland if they provided heavy weaponry such as tanks to Kyiv.
Johnson was asked a report by the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), warning that India was one of a number of major routes for smuggling arms to Vladimir Putin’s regime.
He pointed to the ban on exporting technology products to Russia, saying: “We want to ensure we keep that tight. We’ll be making sure that we don’t allow any loopholes of any kind … we will take steps to make sure that stuff doesn’t go through other routes to Russia.”
Hours before the Rusi analysis was published, the government announced it would ease arms exporting licensing arrangements with New Delhi by issuing an open general export licence to India, hailing closer defence cooperation as one of the wins from the prime minister’s two-day trip.
The report from Rusi, a 26-page overview of Russia’s military situation, says western economic sanctions mean Moscow will become increasingly reliant on component-smuggling to ensure its jets, missiles and other hi-tech munitions can function. Some components have a dual civilian and military use.
Its authors, Jack Watling and Nick Reynolds, warn that “Russia has established mechanisms for laundering these items through third countries”, and they argue that India should be subject to specific restrictions. “Restricting access,
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