New Delhi/Moscow: The Indo-Russian Reciprocal Exchange of Logistics Agreement (RELOS) has become operational, under which India and Russia can now share army bases, ports, and air bases and station up to 3,000 military personnel in each other’s territory.
The agreement was signed between New Delhi and Moscow in February 2025.
Under RELOS, India and Russia agreed to station five battleships, ten fighter planes and 3,000 soldiers on each other’s soil. The pact will remain in effect for five years and can be extended, the Russian news agency, Sputnik, has reported.
This bilateral agreement extends India’s strategic reach to the Arctic region — which is fast becoming the global maritime hotspot, as Russia and China have been increasing their presence in the vast maritime wilderness.
While New Delhi will be able to access the massive ports in Russia’s Murmansk and Severomorsk, Russia will be able to use India’s warm water ports during winter.
With the US having access to the Indo-Pacific region, Moscow is eyeing logistics cooperation from the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean. The pact will provide Russia with support like refuelling, repair, spare parts and supplies.
RELOS will be operational in war and peacetime and allow the two nations to save money and time in long-distance missions, as reported by NDTV.
India also has the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement or LEMOA with the US that allows reciprocal access to military facilities for refuelling, supplies and logistics support.
It differs from RELOS though, as far as the provision of stationing troops is concerned. RELOS also allows the exchange of goods if required.
Under RELOS, cost reimbursement, meaning bartering instead of payment, is also possible.
Both RELOS and LEMOA highlight India’s multi-alignment policy, analysts say.
Russia remains India’s biggest supplier of arms and military equipment, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), a Swedish think tank, said in a 2025 report. India was the world’s second-largest arms importer between 2020 and 2024, with Russia contributing 36 per cent to the country’s total defence purchase during the period, the report said.
