Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov
Moscow wants discussions on an “architecture” to insulate India-Russia bilateral trade from outside interference during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to India, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.
Russia also acknowledges New Delhi’s concerns on its massive trade deficit and is working to fix the problem even as it is aware that Indian purchases of Russian crude oil may decline for “a brief period” because of Western sanctions, Peskov said at an online media briefing ahead of Putin’s visit on December 4-5.
“Tariffs (imposed by US) is rather a question of bilateral relations between India and the US. We cannot interfere in that… We understand that there is a pressure over India. This is the reason we have to be very careful in creating an architecture of our relationship that must be free of any influence coming from third countries,” Peskov said.
Mutual benefit
He emphasised that India and Russia must secure their relationship. “We have to secure our trade that brings mutual benefit… What concerns us is how we are going to continue and increase the volume of our bilateral business with India without allowing anyone to interfere in it. And this will certainly be discussed,” he said.
Responding to questions on India’s reduction of Russian crude oil sourcing following recent US sanctions on two Russian oil companies, Peskov said the decline could be for a very “brief period” and Russia was confident of averting the impact of the Western restrictions.
“There are sanctions against the Russian oil production sector, but we are finding ways not to let the volume of trade go down… We have deep experience in performing under the regime of these illegal sanctions,” Peskov said.
The Kremlin spokesperson pointed out that local currency trade between India and Russia was very important because it protects trade, the sovereignty of both countries, and trade cooperation.
Encouraging trade
According to a source from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India was encouraging trade in local currencies with several trade partners as there were issues many had with hard currencies and it was also a more economical way to do trade.
On defence transactions, Peskov said that Su-57 fighter jets would be on the agenda during the visit, but there were a lot of competitors some of who were providing unjust competition.
MEA sources said that while Moscow may be interested in discussing deals in Su-57 fighter jets or S-400s, no outcomes or announcements were likely during the visit.
On India’s trade deficit with Russia, which widened to about $59 billion in FY25, Peskov acknowledged there was a real imbalance in trade. “We know that our Indian friends are concerned about that. We are jointly looking at possibilities of increasing imports from India. We want to buy more from India,” he said.
Published on December 2, 2025
