Russia-India trade more than doubles – Kremlin

Trade turnover between India and Russia has soared nearly 120% so far this year, according to Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov.

“Our relations are actively developing, the trade has also increased significantly with supplies of Russian oil, coal and fertilizers increasing,” the top official told journalists ahead of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) meeting in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on September 15-16.

According to Ushakov, the two nations are currently working on bilateral measures to expand the use of national currencies, the ruble and the rupee, in mutual settlements.

Last month, Indian Ambassador to Moscow Pavan Kapoor also noted that Russia-India trade turnover had been growing in both volume and scope in recent months. He added that businesses in both countries had been working to overcome the obstacles to closer cooperation posed by sanctions.

Moscow and New Delhi were reportedly discussing mutual acceptance of Russia’s Mir and India's RuPay payment cards, as well as options to implement each other’s interbank transfer services: India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and SPFS, the Russian alternative to SWIFT.

India has been boosting purchases of Russian crude over the past six months, while the US has repeatedly urged New Delhi to support a price cap on Russian oil. However, India has been reluctant to join the Western sanctions on Moscow, placing domestic energy security above geopolitical conflicts.

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