Russia Organizing Ruble-Rupee Payment Method for Oil Exports to India

March 30, 2022 (EIRNS)—Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will arrive in New Delhi for a two-day visit to India on March 31, and one of the main topics of discussion will be establishing ruble-rupee denominated payment mechanisms for increased Russian oil exports to India. Since Russia has been subjected to near-total financial sanctions by the West, such non-dollar mechanisms are required to maintain the flow of physical goods for the productive economy.

Such a rupee-ruble trade mechanism could be in place by as early as next week, A. Sakthivel, president of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), told CNBC’s “Street Signs” today. The FIEO, a government-backed association representing over 200,000 exporters, oversees India’s export promotion councils. There has been no official announcement yet from the Indian government.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov discussed the widening use of national currencies in remarks to the press today. TASS reported that Peskov was asked about a proposal of State Duma Speaker Vyechaslav Volodin to expand the list of products exported for rubles beyond natural gas, to which Peskov replied: “Widening the practice of using national currencies is an area that our government is also pursuing and we need to move further on all fronts. This is in our interests and in the interests of our partners.”