Russia Says It Has Billions of Indian Rupees That It Can’t Use
- Lavrov says Russia needs rupees changed into another currency
- India and Russia seek to resolve the issue amid sanctions risk
Sergei Lavrov with India's Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, in Goa, on May 4.
Source: Indian Ministry of External Affairs/AFP/Getty Images
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Russia has accumulated billions of rupees in Indian banks which it can’t use, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Friday, pointing to a ballooning trade surplus with the South Asian nation.
“This is a problem,” Lavrov told reporters in India’s western state of Goa on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization meeting. “We need to use this money. But for this, these rupees must be transferred in another currency, and this is being discussed now.”