Russia and India have now established a means of conducting mutual settlements in rubles and rupees, and no longer need to use the US dollar for trade between the nations, according to a statement by BRICS International Forum President Purnima Anand.
In her statement, she told reporters, “We have implemented the mechanism of mutual settlements in rubles and rupees, and there is no need for our countries to use the dollar in mutual settlements. And today a similar mechanism of mutual settlements in rubles and yuan is being developed by China.”
Anand added, “That means that the BRICS countries are opening up to Russia, offering the opportunity for the country to overcome the consequences of sanctions.”
She also noted mutual trade between Russia and India had grown 500% of the past four decades. Moscow primarily is supplying large quantities of oil to India, and India in return is supplying large quantities of agricultural products, textiles, medicines and other products.
In addition, it was noted that India considers itself neutral in the current diplomatic conflict between Russia and the West over the military action in Ukraine, and will not take part in any sanctions imposed on the Russian nation, continuing to cooperate with Moscow, “in any areas where necessary.”
She emphasized, “When Russia’s military operation in Ukraine began, naturally there was pressure on India to stop importing Russian oil. But the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had to reject this pressure. The Russian side was assured that supplies would not be stopped and the sanctions regime would in no way affect the relationship between our countries.”
The BRICS bloc is composed of the five nations of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. They have met annually at formal summits since 2009. Four of the members rank among the world’s ten largest countries by population, by area, and by GDP. BRICS states conduct bilateral relations based upon principles of non-interference, equality, and mutual benefit.
Photo of BRICS leaders courtesy of Wikipedia under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.
