A day after a section of Western media claimed that New Delhi and Moscow had allegedly suspended talks on bilateral trade in rupees, both Russian and Indian officials rubbished such reports.
Namely, Reuters, without quoting any source, published a report on Thursday alleging that Russia was “not comfortable holding rupees and wants to be paid in Chinese yuan or other currencies.”
“No change in bilateral developments, wishful thinking by western news agencies," ANI reported on Friday, citing an unnamed official.
Also on Friday, the New Indian Express newspaper reported, “India government officials have denied the reports” on the alleged suspension of talks on trade settlement in India's currency.
Indian officials told the publication that both sides were exploring the best options and discussing “how Russia could use the excess or surplus (Indian) rupee in Vostro accounts.”
The Indian side wants to pay in rupees for energy supplies (largely crude oil) from Russia.
It's worth noting that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, while briefing reporters after an SCO meeting in Goa on Friday, said that Moscow and New Delhi were mulling ways of converting Indian rupees owned by Russia to another currency.
Last week, Indian billionaire banker and CEO of major private bank Kotak Mahindra Bank, Uday Kotak, panned the US dollar as "the biggest financial terrorist in the world," but soon toned down his remarks.
Elaborating on his comments the following day, the businessman explained that "a reserve currency has disproportionate power, whether it is vostro account, 500 bps rate increase, or emerging countries holding [US dollars] for liquidity."
In early November 2022, the Indian government allowed international trade settlements in rupees to promote exports. The country's Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that the amendments were made to facilitate and simplify international trade transactions, considering the growing interest in the internationalization of India's national currency.