India, Russia to start joint arms production

Singh, who arrived in the Russian capital Sunday for a three-day visit, was quoted by the daily Izvestia as saying that the two countries planned to move from a relationship of "buyer and seller" to joint planning and production of high-tech arms.

He did not provide more specifics, but said Russia and India would sign an accord regulating intellectual property rights in several areas including military cooperation during his visit.

Indian Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited Russia last month and announced that the two countries were drafting contracts for the sale of Russian military equipment to India worth 10 billion dollars, Interfax news agency said.

In response to a question about a warming trilateral bond between Russia, China and India, Singh said India regarded this three-way cooperation as "very fruitful" because it would help all three countries resolve shared problems.