Ambassador says India skeptical about price cap on Russian oil

NEW DELHI, Sep 14 (PRIME) -- India is skeptical about the idea of setting a price cap for Russian oil, Moscow’s ambassador to New Delhi Denis Alipov told PRIME on Wednesday.

The share of Russian oil in India’s imports grew to 12–13% from 1.5–2% from the start of 2022. Imports soared at least sevenfold in July as compared with July 2021 and imports reached 1 million barrels per day in August, he said, adding that the two countries are discussing long-term oil contracts.

Trade turnover of Russia and India may rise to U.S. $30 billion by 2025, he said, adding that the indicator amounted to $11 billion in January–June, up from $13.6 billion in the entire year of 2021.

The two countries continue to work on switching to national currencies in settlements and synchronizing payment systems, he also said. “It is difficult to say when Russians would be able to use their Mir cards in India and Indians would be able to use their RuPay cards in Russia, but it is clear that demand here is high from both sides,” he said.

India is considering expanding exports of medicines, agricultural products, electronics, and car components to Russia and imports of hi-tech products, gold, and precious metals from Russia, he also said.

The prospects of investment cooperation in the sectors of pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons and diamond is under consideration as well, he said.

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