India-Russia ties are under stress: Russian Ambassador

New Delhi, Feb 07: Russian ambassador on Monday said its ties with India are under some “stress” due to the sanction regime against Moscow that has caused disruptions in financial and logistics mechanisms. Addressing a conference in Delhi, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said that the mechanism for Rupee-Rouble trade between India and Russia has been established, but added that the Indian banks have been “over-cautious” to use it even though the system is not going to invite any restrictions from the US side.

 

 

 

“Today our ties are under stress as we face tectonic geo-political shifts that have been underway for quite some time, but accelerated last year by crossing the red lines in Europe; not by us, but by the so-called collective West led by the US, (which is) by far the most arrogant and belligerent.” “When I spoke about stress, I specifically meant economic relations. The sanctions that interfered… they disrupted the transaction mechanisms and the logistics mechanisms,” he said. “On all these issues, both sides are in very close dialogue. They are very precise and concrete suggestions and a very professional exchange of ideas and proposals from both sides,” he explained.

 

 

 

On bilateral trade and Western sanctions, he said, “The Vostro accounts have been opened. The mechanism for Rupee-Rouble trade has been established. It is now a matter for the banks to use it,” he said. Alipov said the Indian banks are “over-cautious” to use the Rupee-Rouble mechanism. “That’s the fear. The banks would like to be on the safe side. It will take some more time for the knowledge that it is not at all detrimental to the Indian banking system,” he added. The envoy said Moscow wants to expand its economic engagement with Islamabad as a “weak” Pakistan is not good for the entire region, including India. In a tweet later, he clarified that he meant a “destabilized” Pakistan is not in the interest of anyone in the region. Alipov said Russia would like to see the normalization of India-China relations and that it would hugely benefit the whole world’s security, not just Asian security. “We understand there are very serious impediments to that, a very serious border problem between the two countries. We had a border problem with China, an armed conflict with the Chinese at some stage of the problem, it took us around 40 years to negotiate but ultimately this is the only way to find a solution,” he said.

 

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“I am not going to suggest what India or China should do… This is entirely a bilateral matter between India and China and we don’t interfere in that. But the sooner there is a normalization between the two countries, the better for the whole world. We will do the utmost to facilitate (that), if our efforts are needed,” Alipov said. The conference, ‘Next Steps in India-Russia Strategic Partnership; Old Friends New Horizons’, was organized by the India Writes Network and the Centre for Global India Insights.