India has agreed to Russia's demand to re-negotiate a $1.6 billion contract for an old aircraft carrier, a government minister said on Tuesday, in a deal that has become a thorny issue in relations.
Under the deal signed in 2004, the Soviet-era Admiral Gorshkov would be refurbished and delivered to the Indian navy by 2008.
But delays have pushed back the delivery to 2012. The 44,570-tonne ship's price has since nearly doubled to $2.8 billion, causing anger in New Delhi which was unwilling to pay the extra money.
But on Tuesday the government said it had no option but to restart price talks with Russia, as the navy urgently needed the carrier.
And who starts 2 consecutive paragraphs with "but..." ?
By: Brant
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