PTI

Mangalore, Jan 23: Union Minister of state for defence Mallipudi M Pallam Raju on Monday sought to downplay a top Russian defence official's remarks on Brahmos cruise missile export, saying he might have apprehended the serious threat the missile would pose if it goes into wrong hands.

“Russia might have issued the remarks with an apprehension that if export goes into wrong hands, it will tilt the purpose”, he told a press conference here.

However, he asserted that the remark “is of no concern to us as we already have a joint venture with Russia for the manfacture of brahmos”.

“This is a very lethal and potent weapon system, which can upset balance of forces in any region where it may appear, be it in our neighbourhood, Indian ocean or Latin America”, Colonel-General Antoly Mazurkevich had told PTI in Moscow on Sunday.

“India is one thing, she is our strategic partnership and poses no military threat to Russia, but we are not keen on giving it to other countries, be it China or any other friendly nation”, added Mazurkevich, who heads international cooperation department of the Russian defence ministry.