Moscow: While China and India are enemies of each other, Russia has very good relations with these two countries. When Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Russia last month, some expressed apprehension that the old friend’s equation with India could deteriorate. But there some people said a different thing. The Secretary of the Security Council of Russia, Nikolay Patrushev, has recently met the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. In this meeting, he/she has discussed bilateral cooperation for mutual interests with PM Modi. If experts are to be believed, western countries have not given much importance to this meeting. But this meeting is important in many ways. Nicole had a private meeting with PM Modi apart from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).
Russia dependent on India and China
Not much information has been shared about this meeting, but if sources are to be believed then meeting with PM Modi is difficult. So it is clear that whatever happened must have been very important. Ever since the war in Ukraine started in the year 2022, Russia’s economy is completely dependent on trade with India and China.
Due to sanctions imposed by Western countries, it was necessary for Russian President Vladimir Putin to create a parallel economy that does not depend on the dollar and also keep the relationship strong. After the attack on Ukraine, Russia’s trade in Chinese yuan increased rapidly. According to statistics, it has increased exceptionally up to 80 times.
Yuan became Putin’s choice
In a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping last month, Putin described the yuan as his/her currency of choice and plans to rely on the yuan for a long time. Putin had said, ‘We are in favor of promoting the use of the Chinese yuan between Russia and the countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.
Experts believe that India will have to be included in the plan made by Russia at some point or the other. After the Ukraine war, India made an oil deal with Russia and this time the import of oil from Russia increased rapidly. The oil business has increased by 400 per cent as compared to the previous financial year. Russia is now India’s fourth largest trading partner and continues to grow.
Interestingly, along with Security Council Secretary Patrushev, the President of Russia’s state-run oil company Rosneft had also arrived to meet PM Modi. They have signed an agreement with Indian Oil Corporation to increase oil supply. In the midst of all this, in a separate meeting in India, the Deputy Chairman of the Russian Parliament Duma has issued a common digital currency under the leadership of India, China and Russia. At the same time, in the new foreign policy issued by Russia, India and China have been declared as its closest allies.
Big challenge before Russia
For Russia it all sounds easy enough but for India it would be a bit complicated. The major problem Putin will face is that India still views China with suspicion. Due to prolonged skirmishes along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), India does not trust China at all. In such a situation, it is also very unlikely that the Indian government will be ready to cooperate with China to create a parallel economy free of dollars. However, there is no doubt that India also wants to challenge the dominance of the dollar. But it has to be seen how much India will support Putin’s strategy.