India has risen to become Russia’s second-largest supplier of prohibited essential technologies, according to US and European officials, demonstrating the difficulty of cutting off exports that feed President Vladimir Putin’s war machine.
Indian exports of banned commodities like as microchips, circuits, and machine tools reached $60 million in April and May, more than doubling from earlier months this year, and soared to $95 million in July, according to officials who asked not to be identified while discussing confidential assessments. Only China exceeds India.
Even more aggravating for Ukraine’s partners, some of them claim, is that envoys who have raised the problem have received no response from their Indian counterparts. When asked about the trend, India’s Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment.
According to the most recent data, nearly one-fifth of the sensitive technology that enters Russia’s military-industrial complex comes from India, according to officials.
The new data highlights the challenges that the US and its allies have experienced in limiting Russia’s ability to fight in Ukraine two and a half years after Putin’s soldiers invaded. Most dual-use commodities cannot be sent directly to Russia, so the country has to purchase them from third countries, sometimes through unknowing subsidiaries of Western corporations or networks of intermediaries.
A State Department representative said Friday that the department would raise growing concerns with Indian government officials and businesses.
The US and European Union have focused most of their efforts on a list of technologies found in Russian weapons or are needed to build them.
As allies work to curb some of these routes – Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have been two big transshipment points – new hubs have emerged. They include India, Malaysia and Thailand, according to the people.
India communicating between Russia and Ukraine: Jaishankar
India’s role in the the shipment of such goods has presented a further challenge because US and EU policymakers want to nurture partnerships with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government even as he cultivates ties with Putin. India has also emerged as a top buyer of Russian oil despite allied efforts to restrict sales.
A key driver of the shift is the vast stock of rupees Russia has accumulated from such oil sales, according to the officials.
India’s role as a transshipment point has made it a focus for European Union and US sanctions agencies in recent months. Officials from those nations have visited several times in efforts to get authorities to crack down on shipments, and several Indian firms have come under western sanctions.
In July, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo wrote a letter to senior officials at the Confederation of Indian Industry warning of the sanctions risks faced by Indian companies and banks that do business with Russia’s military industrial base, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Bloomberg News.
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Source: Deccan Herald
