Desperate Russia seeks Indian arms deal to bypass sanctions
Russia continues to desperately search for allies in the fight against Ukraine. The Kremlin had hoped for India’s assistance in the conflict. Under the guise of trade cooperation, Russian arms factories should be established there. This way, Moscow attempted to bypass sanctions imposed by the West.
Russia is struggling to acquire the weapons and ammunition necessary to sustain its fight against Ukraine. The regime in Moscow has already engaged all its known allies. The governments of North Korea, Belarus, Iran, and China support the Russian army.
India was supposed to be added to this list. The Kremlin intended to use Indians to bypass the sanctions imposed on Russia by Western countries. The Financial Times unveiled this scheme.
According to journalists from the British newspaper, the Russians planned to use financial reserves to buy components from India necessary for building weapons. Payments were to be made in Indian rupees to convert the currency and skirt some European sanctions.
The closed payment system between India and Russia would not be subject to Western control and would allow the purchase of "telecommunication equipment, server equipment, and other complex electronic equipment", which was previously sourced, among others, from the European Union. The total value of the transactions is estimated to be around 1.2 billion USD.
Russian factories in India? Intelligence involved
Journalists from the "Financial Times" report that the Indian company Innovio Ventures was expected to earn as much as 4.9 billion dollars from transactions with the Russians. This included the production of components for combat drones.
However, that’s not all. As part of the cooperation, factories were supposed to be established in India and managed by Russians. Russian intelligence officers were also involved.
Additionally, India is currently the largest recipient of Russian crude oil. It is unclear, however, whether the plan revealed in the Russian correspondences by "Financial Times" journalists ever came to fruition.
Officially, Moscow cannot touch the billions of rupees it has accumulated through international cooperation. This is a significant problem for Vladimir Putin, who cannot reach an agreement with the government in New Delhi.
