The Kremlin on Tuesday underscored the need for India and Russia to create an architecture that would insulate the bilateral relationship, particularly trade, from third-party interference.
Moscow has also acknowledged the large trade deficit and said efforts were on to import more goods from India.
The development comes ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to India beginning Thursday.
Interacting with the media in India via a video link organised by Russia’s Sputnik news agency, Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov repeatedly spoke about the creation of an architecture to insulate bilateral trade, but did not divulge details.
“We will be discussing developing a bilateral mechanism to counter a payment system that is used as a political tool,” he said when asked about how Moscow hoped to allay concerns over doing business with Russia for fear of western sanctions.
External affairs ministry officials were non-committal on the subject when Peskov’s remarks were flagged to them, pointing to the rupee-ruble trade arrangement the two countries already have and maintaining that this is an ongoing conversation.
Peskov sought to appear unfazed by the decision of Indian oil companies to cut back on buying Russian oil from this month in the wake of US sanctions, stating that while some companies are reducing their purchases, others are buying more. He did not elaborate but underscored the fact that Russia has “deep experience” in performing under “illegal sanctions”.
On the punitive US tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, Peskov said it was a bilateral issue between New Delhi and Washington. “We cannot interfere in that and we don’t have the slightest intention of doing that. We understand that there is pressure over India. This is the reason we have to be very careful in creating an architecture for our relationship that must be free of any influence coming from third countries. We have to secure our relationship. We have to secure our trade that brings mutual benefit… If we earn from this bilateral trade, we have to continue it but we have to secure it from pressure from abroad. It’s a complicated issue but there are certain experiences in that field.”
Both countries stressed the importance of Putin’s visit and held out the possibility of several agreements being signed during the bilateral engagement on Friday. Since Russia, like much of the Western world, has a shortage of manpower, external affairs ministry officials confirmed that an agreement on the mobility of skilled and semi-skilled manpower would be signed.
On the trade deficit, Indian officials said efforts were on to broadbase Indian exports to Russia to include marine products, potatoes, pomegranate, pharma products, processed foods and consumer durables. The trade deficit had multiplied manifold in the last couple of years with India’s purchase of discounted oil from Russia. Peskov acknowledged the trade imbalance and said the two countries were working together to address this. “We want to buy more from India,” he said.
The two sides are expected to discuss possible defence purchases but India maintained that no deals are signed in such summit meetings. Peskov said India’s interest in purchasing Sukhoi Su-57 fighter aircraft and more S-400s were on the agenda. Given that US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he wants India to stop buying weapons from Russia, these discussions are likely to remain under wraps for now.
Peskov made it clear that Russia was appreciative of the pressure under which New Delhi was maintaining its relationship with Moscow, placing it on record that “we are very grateful to India for its friendly stance in bilateral and global affairs”.
Asked if Moscow expects more political support from India than its existing position on the Russia-Ukraine situation, Peskov said: “We appreciate India’s position”.