India and Russia agreed on Thursday to deepen trade cooperation during a meeting of their foreign ministers in Moscow, signalling that Washington’s tariff threat would not derail their relationship.
Indian exports face additional US duties of up to 50 percent — among the highest imposed by Washington — in response to New Delhi’s increased purchases of Russian oil. Western nations say India’s imports are helping fund Moscow’s war in Ukraine, but New Delhi insists its transactions are commercial and accuses the US and EU of double standards, pointing to their own continuing trade with Russia.
“We have good results in cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector, in the supply of Russian oil to the Indian market. And we have a mutual interest in implementing joint projects for the extraction of energy resources, including in the Russian Far East and the Arctic shelf,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said at a joint news conference with Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.
Jaishankar said India–Russia ties had remained among the “steadiest” since World War Two, rooted in their historic partnership during the Soviet era. Both sides reaffirmed plans to expand bilateral trade, particularly by boosting Indian exports to Russia.
“This requires swiftly addressing non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments,” Jaishankar said, adding that greater sales of pharmaceuticals, agriculture products and textiles to Russia would help narrow the trade imbalance.
Russia has diverted much of its oil exports from Europe to China and India since Western sanctions were imposed over the Ukraine conflict. India and China now account for the bulk of Moscow’s crude shipments.
Russian embassy officials in New Delhi said on Wednesday that Moscow expected to maintain supplies to India despite US pressure, and expressed hope that trilateral talks with India and China would take place soon.
