NEW DELHI: India’s con­siderable increase in trade with Russia should not be seen as a “temporary phenomenon”, given more economic opportunities are emerging, India’s foreign minister stated on Friday.

India and Russia have a close relationship which dates back decades and New Delhi recently ‘refus­ed to condemn Moscow over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine’, instead ‘urging the two sides to end the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy’.

New Delhi emerged as one of the topmost buyers of Russian sea-borne oil after Western nations imposed sanctions and halted purchases, in res­ponse to the war (which Russia calls a “special military operation”).

“For long, we have looked at Russia from a political or security perspective” Foreign Minister, S. Jaishankar said at an industry conference.

“As the country turns eastwards, fresh economic opportunities are presenting themselves, the spike in our trade and new areas of cooperation should not be regarded as a temporary phenomenon.” Trade between India and Russia stood at $65.7 billion in the year ending March 2024, a 33 per-cent increase from the previous year.

Published in Dawn, May 18th, 2024