Russia on Friday sought to move forward a rupee-ruble-type payment mechanism, reflecting its eagerness to trade in national currencies with India and other trading partners to meet the challenges posed by Western sanctions.
When asked about the discussion on the Rupee-Ruble arrangement during the conversation with the External Affairs Minister S JaishankarRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov It said an arrangement was introduced several years ago for trade with countries like India and China and efforts to circumvent Western payment systems would now be intensified.
“We don’t want to depend on a system that will shut down anytime and we don’t want to depend on a system that can steal your money overnight,” he said.
India and Russia are negotiating a payment mechanism as many exporters still have payments that have been stalled following Russia’s rejection of the SWIFT payment mechanism. Russia is pushing its own platform which is positioned as an alternative to SWIFT.
Under the proposed mechanism, the identified Russian and Indian banks will handle payments for merchants on both sides.
The mechanism is seen as important for dealing with goods, including food and pharma products, where global sanctions have not been imposed, although immediate use is seen in the case of India’s oil purchases and arrears related to defense equipment.
Lavrov said that Russia is committed to maintaining the flow of trade with India despite the sanctions.
“It’s not tomorrow but for many years we’ve been dealing with Western sanctions and we’ve had the experience to live in these conditions and we’re fine and our partners are fine with that too,” he said.
When asked about the discussion on the Rupee-Ruble arrangement during the conversation with the External Affairs Minister S JaishankarRussian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov It said an arrangement was introduced several years ago for trade with countries like India and China and efforts to circumvent Western payment systems would now be intensified.
“We don’t want to depend on a system that will shut down anytime and we don’t want to depend on a system that can steal your money overnight,” he said.
India and Russia are negotiating a payment mechanism as many exporters still have payments that have been stalled following Russia’s rejection of the SWIFT payment mechanism. Russia is pushing its own platform which is positioned as an alternative to SWIFT.
Under the proposed mechanism, the identified Russian and Indian banks will handle payments for merchants on both sides.
The mechanism is seen as important for dealing with goods, including food and pharma products, where global sanctions have not been imposed, although immediate use is seen in the case of India’s oil purchases and arrears related to defense equipment.
Lavrov said that Russia is committed to maintaining the flow of trade with India despite the sanctions.
“It’s not tomorrow but for many years we’ve been dealing with Western sanctions and we’ve had the experience to live in these conditions and we’re fine and our partners are fine with that too,” he said.