Soviet Union 1991

(End of Chapter 4)

The Indian delegation that night walked in chatting and laughing, and then turned into a puddle of mud and was carried out sideways. They danced and drank like crazy along the way, which attracted many people to look at them and laugh at these Indians. Liquor power.

However, Yanayev did not expect that these non-drinking Indians would fight to the end for their motherland. Although they ended in a disastrous defeat, they were still strong-willed. But both sides are considering things from the perspective of the country. How can they let these people go out of emotional pity?

The meeting originally scheduled for the next morning was postponed to the afternoon of the next day because of the Indian's unexpected hangover. When the Indian representative walked into the meeting venue, the energetic Minister of Defense Yazov was still smiling. Say hello to the listless Indian delegation and ask, slightly teasingly, if you slept well last night.

"I really can't survive, Minister Azov." Defense Minister Kapoor shook his head. It felt like there was a small thorn stuck in his temple. Every time he beat, he felt heartbreaking pain. He held himself up. He raised his forehead and said slowly, "Let's quickly negotiate the price of the weapons. Stop drinking. If you drink any more, it will delay the business."

"Okay." Yazov forced to hold back his smile. Seeing that his goal of getting drunk last night had been achieved, he glanced at the negotiator Varennikov beside him. The two were ready to join forces to deceive each other. The Indian delegation also felt that the aggressive attitude of the group of people across the negotiating table looked very different from the sluggish situation on their side.

The Indian delegation put forward a list of supplies it wanted to purchase, including 8,000 Kalashnikov rifles, 56 T72 original version tanks, 173 T72 foreign trade version tanks, and 50 rounds of Sam-11 Buk surface-to-air missiles, twenty BMP-3 armored vehicles and ten Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. The total value of this order is approximately US$300 million.

But the Soviet Union was obviously a little unhappy with India's offer. He pointed at the order and said, "My friend, your bill is sorry for Moscow, which took good care of your delegation. Look at it. It's just the original version of the T72 tank. Our price is almost over 2.5 million US dollars. Isn’t it a bit too low for you to do this? Are you really embarrassed about this price?”

Officials from the Indian delegation were about to retort. Yazov continued, "Also, take a look at our Shilka self-propelled anti-aircraft guns. The products you want to buy are all original versions of Shilka. His price is about one million US dollars. Also There are Buk surface-to-air missiles. They cost millions every minute. What? You said one missile only costs hundreds of thousands? If you had done the math you wouldn’t have come to such a ridiculous conclusion.”

In fact, the price of a set of Beech is about US$600,000, and Azov deliberately deceived the Indian defense corps under the guise of the original version.

"As for those BMP-3 armored vehicles, including artillery shells, logistics, etc., each one will cost close to three to four hundred million US dollars. So if you think about the order you have proposed for about US$300 million, do you think you can justify it?"

"But didn't you say that if you purchase a large amount at one time, you will give us a discount?" The Indian delegation was a little flustered. He did not expect that the Soviet government would go back on its promise.

"Of course, I mean there are preferential policies for large-scale purchases. But think about it, you purchased fifty-six of the original T72 tanks. This is not a large-scale purchase. Do you think we have never seen the world? Do you know the whole situation? How powerful is the Soviet armored force? Fifty thousand tanks and a torrent of steel are enough to cover your entire India. For us, less than 400 tanks is not considered a large purchase, so we cannot accept your price."

"Then how much is enough?" Prakash gritted his teeth and asked the other party to make a price directly. How long would it take for the negotiations to end?

"Well. Now there are two solutions to solve it. Either you modify the number of pieces on the list. When it reaches the number that can be discounted for you, you will naturally get a discount. But at least you have to buy two hundred original T72s. Otherwise, how can you be embarrassed? Give you a discount."

"Two hundred cars?" Prakash's heart was bleeding. This approach is tantamount to cutting out the flesh of the Indian Army, and the budget approved by the Ministry of Defense this time is only 580 million yuan. Buying two hundred tanks means that there is no need to buy anything else.

"Look, you guys really have no courage at all like those at the wine table." Yazov tsked, and the Indian delegation's drunken and ugly image last night was also used by him as a psychological threat to the other party. arms.

Sure enough, Prakash's face instantly turned red when he heard this. After Prakash sobered up, his subordinates told him that he was holding a chair and yelling in the room last night. People on the entire floor heard his roar, and the Soviet Union must have also learned of this ally's ugly behavior.

"The second plan is actually very simple. The price you quoted only includes the weapon itself, but does not include the logistics of ammunition. As long as you buy our ammunition, we can still give you discounts and discounts." Vareniko Husband said that this seemed to be an idea for the Indians, but in fact he wanted to sell more arms.

"No, thank you. I think we don't need too much ammunition imported from Russia. We can also make it ourselves." Kapur, who saw the Soviet Union's careful thinking, declined Varennikov's proposal.

But the other party was not worried about being rejected at all. He raised his index finger slightly on the table and directly pointed out the gap between India's current production status and the Soviet Union. "Well, I want to ask Minister Kapoor a few questions. Can you produce T72?" Can the required artillery shells be produced for Buk anti-aircraft missiles? Are the brackets easily damaged? Can you produce the artillery shells required for the BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicle? Even if you can produce them, can you guarantee that they will not explode? If you think that India’s local industry has reached this level, I would Wouldn't mind selling at the price you offered.”

At the end, he came with a critical attack, "It's a pity that even Americans dare not say this. How can India's industrial level be so confident that it can produce military industrial products with quality comparable to the Soviet Union?"

Varennikov's words hit Kapoor's pain point. Indeed, even if India can produce these weapon parts, the industrial gaps in quality, tolerances, etc. cannot be smoothed out in a short time. Rather than developing weapons independently, it is really cheaper to buy them from abroad.

"Okay, let's just buy ammunition." Capper said bitterly with his heart crossed. It was not the time to be emotional at the negotiating table. Although the Soviets were aggressive, everything they said was a fact that Kapur had to admit.

"That's good. This is the attitude of friends of the Soviet people." Varennikov and Yazov smiled at each other and happily spoke out a series of quotations. Only the Indian delegation listened to the prices and My heart is bleeding. Sure enough, the Soviets are a bunch of guys who are not easy to mess with.

In the end, the Indians and the Soviets reached an agreement at a price of 480 million yuan. However, the polar bear, who has a rare conscience, still had a conscience. He promised that as long as the parts of the weapons that appeared in the terms were broken, the Soviet Union was willing to do so once or twice. Replacement is free, but a handling fee of 10% of the material price will be charged later. This also made the Indian delegation's hearts slide into the abyss and at the same time once again rise to heaven like a roller coaster.

Both parties signed their names on the contract, and after exchanging contracts, the deal that came with great interest but made the Indian delegation feel inexplicably disappointed ended. Although it did not exceed the budget given by the Ministry of Defense in the end, the Indian delegation always felt as if they had been cheated by the Russians.

After the meeting, the Soviet Union proposed to invite the Indian Ministry of Defense delegation for a drink again to celebrate the victory of the deal. However, this time the Indians refused faster than anyone else. They quickly said that they had to rush back to the country to deal with government affairs and had no intention of doing so. Stay a little longer in the Soviet Union.

In fact, the Indian delegation's calves were already trembling when they heard about drinking with the Soviet military. They had never seen the state of the Russians at the wine table before, and they no longer dared to underestimate this terrible vodka nation. Anyway, they learned a truth from then on.

Stay away from the drinks table, stay away from the vodka, stay away from the Russians. (To be continued.)