Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. File
| Photo Credit: AP
Some countries are trying to create “obstacles” in India-Russia trade but the two sides are focused on overcoming the challenge and expand bilateral trade to $100 billion in the next five years, said Dmitry Peskov, Press Secretary of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking at a press interaction organised by Russian news outlet Sputnik, Mr. Peskov said President Putin will be accompanied with officials who will bring new proposals in the civil nuclear and military domains and said that the western sanctions that have created a hurdle before India-Russia trade relations are “illegal”.
“There are some countries that would try and put obstacles on the way of development of our trade. So let’s stick to our own interests and we have to make sure that India is sharing this approach,” said Mr. Peskov highlighting the need for using national currencies in bilateral trade.
The Kremlin spokesperson said that the share of U.S. dollars in global trade is “decreasing” and that the share of national currencies in global trade is “increasing”. Mr. Peskov described the U.S. tariffs imposed on India for the purchase of Russian energy as a “bilateral” issue between India and the U.S. but added, “What concerns us is the way we are going to continue and enlarge the volume of our bilateral business with India not letting anyone interfere in that.”
Payment system
“Russia continues to be a very important supplier of energy sources to India on competitive prices and we know that this trade is of great benefit to India and at the same time of mutual benefit,” said Mr. Peskov explaining that “various methods of payments between the two countries will be on the agenda” of the talks during the visit.
“We have to organise our trade volume and our trade interaction in the way that cannot be affected by third countries. So, the nearly whole volume of our trade relations is being paid by our national currencies. This is very important as that way we are securing our trade and our sovereignty.”
Circumventing Western sanctions
Responding to a question from The Hindu regarding reports of energy major Reliance halting import of Russian crude, Mr. Peskov blamed third countries for “additional pressure” and said: “Some companies are slowing down the purchase while some companies are enlarging the purchase.” Mr. Peskov said Russia is trying to circumvent the Western sanctions that have created hurdle in trade and said, “We consider those sanctions to be illegal from the point of view of international law.”
“The only sanction can be considered legal when it is approved by the U.N. Security Council. Unless it is not, it is illegal. So, all these limitations, we do not accept them,” said Mr. Peskov.
On nuclear trade
He highlighted the Kudankulam nuclear reactor as an example of successful civil nuclear cooperation between Russia and India and said the upcoming presidential visit will include a Russian proposal on small modular reactors. Mr. Peskov said Mr. Putin will be accompanied by Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev.
“Mr. Likhachev, Chief Executive of Rosatom will be joining the President during his visit and he will be carrying an offer for the small reactors in his bag. This offer will be on the table for negotiation. Russia possesses very important technology on very small and flexible nuclear reactors which are of great interest in lots of countries now,” said Mr. Peskov who highlighted Brahmos missiles as a symbol of India-Russia defence cooperation and informed that the two sides are working on “quite a variety of very complicated systems”.
President Putin will arrive here on December 4 for his first visit to India since the beginning of the Ukraine war on February 24, 2022. as Moscow continues to discuss with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, the new 28-point peace proposal of U.S. President Donald Trump for ending the war.
Mr. Peskov described President Trump’s initiative as of “great importance” and expressed hope that through negotiations Russia can attain its goals. The spokesperson also touched upon the evolving situation in Afghanistan and indicated a shift in Moscow’s stance towards Taliban and described the Taliban administration in Kabul as a “de facto government” though he did not clarify if Russia recognises the Taliban setup as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
Published – December 02, 2025 08:43 pm IST
