New Delhi: Russia on Tuesday pitched for creating an “architecture” to insulate its trade ties with India from pressure by third countries, and said New Delhi’s procurement of Russian crude oil may decline for “a brief period” in view of western sanctions.
However, Moscow is taking steps to enhance the supplies, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in a video-streamed news conference ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi for the annual summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said that addressing India’s concerns over the massive trade deficit, cooperation in small modular nuclear reactors and expanding defence and energy ties could be among the focus areas during the summit talks on Friday.
Putin, who arrives on Thursday, will hold talks with Modi during which a plethora of significant outcomes are expected, including in the trade and defence spheres, to further solidify bilateral strategic ties.
The Russian leader’s trip to India is taking place at a time when India-US relations are going through possibly the worst phase in the last two decades after Washington imposed a whopping 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, including 25 per cent levies for New Delhi’s procurement of Russian crude oil.
On India gradually bringing down purchase of Russian crude oil following US sanctions on two Russian firms, Peskov said the decline could be for a very “brief period” and Russia is confident of averting the impact of the Western restrictions. “There are sanctions against the Russian oil production sector, but we are finding ways not to let the volume of trade go down. We have deep experience in performing under the regime of these illegal sanctions,” Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesperson also called for creating a mechanism to insulate India-Russia trade and energy ties from pressure by third countries, in an apparent reference to western sanctions. “We should create an architecture of our relationship that must be free of any influence coming from any third country. We have to secure our relationship; we have to secure our trade that brings mutual benefit. We have to secure our trade from pressure from abroad,” he said.
The Kremlin spokesperson called for a new system of global trade where the payment system (dollar-denominated trade) is not used as a “political tool”.