The United States and Australia on Wednesday criticized India for the possible introduction of a Rupee-Ruble payment mechanism for conducting trade between Moscow and New Delhi.
They have said that such an arrangement would dilute the economic sanctions which the West has collectively imposed on Russia with an aim of isolating Moscow from the global economy for invading Ukraine.
“Now is the time to stand on the right side of history, and to stand with the United States and dozens of other countries, standing up for freedom, democracy and sovereignty with the Ukrainian people, and not funding and fueling and aiding President Putin's war,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told reporters.
The Commerce Secretary said that this payment mechanism was “deeply disappointing” as the world must unite to condemn Russia for its military actions in Ukraine.
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She however said that she is yet to read the complete details of the functioning payment mechanisms.
Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan stressed on the commitment to the rules-based international order which the countries across the globe have been observing since the end of the Second World War.
India is the only member of QUAD which has not overtly condemned the Russian invasion. This policy has been made apparent as New Delhi abstained on critical UN Security Council votes.
It was recently reported that the Russian and the Indian governments are likely to soon introduce a Rupee-Ruble trade mechanism, bypassing the economic sanctions which have been introduced by the West post the former’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Officials of the Reserve Bank of India, India’s Central bank, met with officials of major Russian banks, i.e., VTB, Sberbank and Gazprombank, as per a report by Times Now.
Via the Rupee-Ruble mechanism, Indian exporters and importers will exchange payments in local currencies, thereby effectively bypassing the need to conduct trade in USD.
Indian and Russian banks will open branches in each other's countries to facilitate this mechanism.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is visiting India for a diplomatic meeting with his FM S. Jaishankar on Thursday.
