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Russia hit out at a proposed US move to impose 100% tariffs on countries buying Russian crude oil, calling the measure “illegal” and “unacceptable”, while Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit New Delhi for the BRICS summit and hold bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Lots of issues cannot be discussed publicly having some unfriendly countries that are trying to put obstacles on further development of cooperation,” Peskov said, adding that the issues were being discussed “discreetly but in a constructive manner.”
In a virtual interaction ahead of the summit on Tuesday, September 8, Peskov said Russia remained committed to expanding its strategic partnership with India across energy, finance, space and other sectors.
His remarks on proposed tariffs come as India remains one of the largest buyers of Russian crude, making the issue particularly significant for New Delhi ahead of Putin's visit.
Peskov said the Putin-Modi meeting would also provide an opportunity for the Russian president to brief Modi on the situation on the Ukraine front, while the two leaders would exchange views on international developments, including the war in West Asia.
“It is a great opportunity for exchange on opinions on international issues — global economy is being heavily and negatively influenced by the situation in the Persian Gulf,” Peskov said.
On BRICS
Peskov described the upcoming summit as the “crown” of India's BRICS chairship and said Moscow had no doubt the gathering would be successful.
“We’re doing our best to contribute to further development of BRICS cooperation” across its three main pillars — politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian cooperation, he said.
Russia also supports bringing additional countries into different formats of BRICS cooperation, Peskov said, while highlighting areas including counter-terrorism, drug trafficking, communications security and high-tech systems.
The 18th BRICS summit, to be held on September 12-13, could also see Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian among the high-profile leaders expected in the capital.
'Not dedollarising'
Peskov said Russia was seeing increasing use of national currencies for payments with BRICS partners.
Russia has recently said that 96% of bilateral trade with India is now facilitated through rupee-rouble payment mechanisms. Peskov said Russia was not seeking to eliminate the US dollar, but wanted payment mechanisms that could not be disrupted by sanctions.
“It’s not because we’re aiming for dedollarisation or getting rid of US dollar. To the contrary. We are open to every acceptable method of payment,” he said.
He took a swipe at US, saying, “Certain countries are using national currency as tool for political pressure. They’re introducing sanctions based on national currencies. If they don’t let us use their money, we use our own money”.
On nuclear cooperation
Peskov also said Moscow was awaiting negotiations with New Delhi on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in India, signalling that nuclear energy will be another major pillar of the bilateral relationship.
In a separate address ahead of the summit, Peskov said Russia was already working closely with India on peaceful nuclear energy and that cooperation at the Kudankulam nuclear power project was progressing well.
“We're going on very well with Kudankulam, and now we are expecting further development in this sphere, waiting for negotiations on a new nuclear plant that will be built in India,” he said.
He said Russia was involved in the construction of more nuclear units globally than any other country.
The nuclear push comes as India is seeking a major expansion of its nuclear power capacity. New Delhi has set an ambition of reaching 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047, compared with around 8.8 GW currently, and has recently opened the sector further to private investment.
Peskov also highlighted cooperation in space, cultural exchanges and education, and the fact that large numbers of Indian students study in Russia.
“Lots of issues cannot be discussed publicly having some unfriendly countries that are trying to put obstacles on further development of cooperation,” Peskov said, adding that the issues were being discussed “discreetly but in a constructive manner.”
In a virtual interaction ahead of the summit on Tuesday, September 8, Peskov said Russia remained committed to expanding its strategic partnership with India across energy, finance, space and other sectors.
His remarks on proposed tariffs come as India remains one of the largest buyers of Russian crude, making the issue particularly significant for New Delhi ahead of Putin's visit.
Peskov said the Putin-Modi meeting would also provide an opportunity for the Russian president to brief Modi on the situation on the Ukraine front, while the two leaders would exchange views on international developments, including the war in West Asia.
“It is a great opportunity for exchange on opinions on international issues — global economy is being heavily and negatively influenced by the situation in the Persian Gulf,” Peskov said.
On BRICS
Peskov described the upcoming summit as the “crown” of India's BRICS chairship and said Moscow had no doubt the gathering would be successful.
“We’re doing our best to contribute to further development of BRICS cooperation” across its three main pillars — politics and security, economy and finance, and cultural and humanitarian cooperation, he said.
Russia also supports bringing additional countries into different formats of BRICS cooperation, Peskov said, while highlighting areas including counter-terrorism, drug trafficking, communications security and high-tech systems.
The 18th BRICS summit, to be held on September 12-13, could also see Chinese President Xi Jinping and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian among the high-profile leaders expected in the capital.
'Not dedollarising'
Peskov said Russia was seeing increasing use of national currencies for payments with BRICS partners.
Russia has recently said that 96% of bilateral trade with India is now facilitated through rupee-rouble payment mechanisms. Peskov said Russia was not seeking to eliminate the US dollar, but wanted payment mechanisms that could not be disrupted by sanctions.
“It’s not because we’re aiming for dedollarisation or getting rid of US dollar. To the contrary. We are open to every acceptable method of payment,” he said.
He took a swipe at US, saying, “Certain countries are using national currency as tool for political pressure. They’re introducing sanctions based on national currencies. If they don’t let us use their money, we use our own money”.
On nuclear cooperation
Peskov also said Moscow was awaiting negotiations with New Delhi on the construction of a new nuclear power plant in India, signalling that nuclear energy will be another major pillar of the bilateral relationship.
In a separate address ahead of the summit, Peskov said Russia was already working closely with India on peaceful nuclear energy and that cooperation at the Kudankulam nuclear power project was progressing well.
“We're going on very well with Kudankulam, and now we are expecting further development in this sphere, waiting for negotiations on a new nuclear plant that will be built in India,” he said.
He said Russia was involved in the construction of more nuclear units globally than any other country.
The nuclear push comes as India is seeking a major expansion of its nuclear power capacity. New Delhi has set an ambition of reaching 100 GW of nuclear capacity by 2047, compared with around 8.8 GW currently, and has recently opened the sector further to private investment.
Peskov also highlighted cooperation in space, cultural exchanges and education, and the fact that large numbers of Indian students study in Russia.
