Asia Times: India’s decision to adopt the ruble in trade exchange with Russia surprises Washington
The Asia Times newspaper considered that India’s refusal to follow Western sanctions imposed against Russia under the pretext of a special military operation to protect Donbass and its decision to adopt the ruble in trade exchange with Moscow came as a great surprise for the United States.
The newspaper pointed out that the differences between Washington and New Delhi in their assessment of events and their differing positions on the Russian special military operation in Ukraine reflect a regional trend towards more rapprochement between Russia, India and China, noting that India’s position in this regard was a shock to the United States.
The newspaper pointed out that “India refuses to abandon its old ally Russia due to the crisis in Ukraine, and instead of supporting US sanctions, New Delhi has developed local currency conversion and investment tools to trade with Russia in rubles and rupees.”
The newspaper considered that the policies and positions of the United States pushed India to cooperate with Russia, including Washington’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and its inability to resolve the crisis in Ukraine.
The newspaper pointed out that such actions by the United States pushed the three powers, Russia, India and China, to deal by themselves to solve the problems, noting that “New Delhi has become convinced that friendship with America is like a powder keg that can explode at any moment.”
The US Bloomberg Agency revealed yesterday that at least ten European companies that are buyers of Russian natural gas have already opened accounts in rubles in GazpromBank, which is necessary to meet Russia’s demand for payment in the national currency.
On the 31st of last March, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree setting out a new procedure for paying for gas supplies by buyers from unfriendly countries in Russian rubles.
NR