Key Points

Speaking on trade relations between the two countries, Griva said, "We can predict that the usual growth of trade will be approximately 10 per cent. Indian exports to Russia are growing bigger and faster...Export of machine tools, electronic devices, pharma and chemicals is big."

He added that despite the pressure on Russia and its economy, there is an increase in cooperation, especially in the financial sphere through Rupee-Ruble payments between India and Russia, highlighting that despite external pressures, the financial cooperation remains secure.

Griva made the remarks on Wednesday during a joint press conference with Roman Babushkin, Charge d'Affaires of the Russian Embassy in the national capital.

Calling the sanctions on the Russian economy illegal, Babushkin said, "Non-United Nations sanctions and secondary sanctions are illegal. They weaponise the economy. Despite the tremendous sanction pressure on Russia, the Russian economy is growing steadily. It means that you cannot exclude from the global economy such a big and important country like Russia with its tremendous energy, industrial and human potential."

Highlighting the impact of sanctions on cooperation, Griva said, "We see that after such pressure, we see an increase in cooperation, and especially in the financial sphere, for example, because payments in ruble-rupee became safer when you can expect that there would be some blackmailing. So just the trend is that more pressure, more cooperation."

He further noted that India and Russia have seen stable growth in trade, predicting that the usual growth in trade would be around 10 per cent annually. "We have really very stable growth in our trade... Now we have reached the level and we can predict that, and focus on the usual growth in trade will be approximately 10 per cent annually. Besides that, we see the tendency that now Indian exports towards Russia are growing bigger and faster," Griva said.

While crude oil remains the main item of Russia's export, Griva pointed out that the range of other commodities is also increasing. "I wanted to highlight that despite political situation, we can predict that the same level of oil import, crude oil import will be approximately the same, and it's absolutely positive trend, because for Russia it's the main supply."

He also highlighted the growth of Indian exports to Russia in sectors such as machine tools, pharma, and electronic devices.

Griva's remarks come as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar is in Russia co-chairing the Russia-India Intergovernmental Commission (IRIGC), a key platform for bilateral cooperation across trade, energy, finance, and defence. During his visit, he will meet Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

The Embassy of India in Russia shared his arrival in Moscow on Tuesday evening in a post on X, stating, "Hon'ble EAM @DrSJaishankar arrives in Moscow on an official visit to Russia."

The development comes amid strain in India's ties with the US over New Delhi's procurement of crude oil from Russia.

- ANI