Moscow’s ambassador to New Delhi says bilateral trade and political ties are strengthening despite Western pressure
Russia and India are expanding their economic ties to unprecedented levels, propelling Moscow into the list of New Delhi’s top five trade partners, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov has said.
In an article for the Russian newspaper Vedomosti on Monday, he noted that trade with India reached $49 billion last year, with cooperation developing in the railway sector, energy, chemical production, heavy machinery, mining, and agriculture. “All of this is happening despite the desperate attempts by Western countries to isolate Russia,” the diplomat noted.
There are “no problems of a fundamental nature” in Russian-Indian relations, the envoy said, adding that current difficulties are mainly due to Western sanctions against Moscow.
“The most vulnerable areas are finance and transportation, but we maintain dialogue in these areas. Among the priority tasks are the development of alternative logistics routes, and new paths for banking and insurance support with an emphasis on the use of national currency,” Alipov noted.
Moscow, however, does not view its interaction with India from a competitive perspective, he stressed.
“Our relations are self-sufficient, positive in nature, and not directed against anyone, which cannot be said about the actions of the United States, which shapes its policy on the principle of opposing ‘undesirable countries’,” Alipov argued, insisting that the US “openly aims” to undermine India’s relations with Russia.
“They continue to apply the same old approach, seeking to reshape the architecture of regional security in the Asia-Pacific region to fit their own standards.”
