Moscow: Russian Defence Ministry yesterday (Dec 2, 2003) denied reports about the finalisation of much-awaited 'Gorshkov' deal with India, saying that at least three questions still remained to be resolved.

"The final amount of contract, as well as issues pertaining to the supply of foreign origin weapon systems and changes required in the ship's systems for their integration are yet to be resolved," a Ministry of Defence (MoD) source was quoted as saying by ITAR-TASS in Moscow.

Earlier, Indian Naval Chief Admiral Madhvendra Singh was reported to have said that the 'Gorshkov' deal has been finalised and India would have to pay Rs 3,000 crore for this Kiev class aircraft carrier.

"The proposal of Indian partners for fitting a third-party air defence system on the ship was to an extent was a surprise for the Russian side, as it would inevitably create the problem of its operational compatibility with the battle ship's combat systems," ITAR-TASS quoted Russian MoD source.

According to earlier reports, India wants to deploy Israeli Barak missiles on the "Admiral Gorshkov", which is to become flagship of the Western Naval command after induction by the Navy.

Earlier, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov had postponed his New Delhi visit scheduled for November 26 to 28 because 'Gorshkov' deal was not finalised by that time.

PTI