India-Russia relationship: Amid the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the alleged soaring influence of the West, a top Russian official claimed that the relations between Moscow and New Delhi are currently going under "stress".
Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, while addressing an event in the national capital on Monday, he underscored that the current tectonic geo-political shifts and the United States-led interference are disrupting the ties between two "friendly" nations.
However, he noted that the relations between India and Russia are decades old and added the ties between the two nations would not be affected by any external factors. The Russian official alleged the US government working as an "advertisement agency".
Further, Alipov asserted 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.
Russian official says India remains notable importer of oil
While explaining the trade relations between the two nations, he asserted that Moscow will maintain the export of oil irrespective of the collective sanctions imposed by Europe and the West.
"Today, however, 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," he said.
Explaining his comments, Alipov said the western sanctions have disrupted the transaction and logistics mechanisms. "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 said.
India-Russia relations
It is worth noting that India is the world’s third-largest oil-consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs. Crude oil is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel at refineries. However, ever since the war between Russia and its neighbouring nation started last year, the West and Europe imposed stringent sanctions on its energy. This resulted in Russia's offering more discounts to its oldest ally, India. India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.
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