Trade turnover between the two countries has tripled this year, data from New Delhi shows
Russia has entered the ranks of India’s top five partners in trade, data from the Indian Department of Commerce shows. According to the figures, in the ten months of the fiscal year beginning in April 2022 and ending this month, turnover between the two countries has tripled.
Moscow is now in fifth place on the list, after the US, China, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. This marks the first time since the late 1990s, when India began tracking trade statistics, that Russia has entered the top-five. The country ranked 25th in fiscal year 2021-2022, and its best result was in 1997-1998, when it ranked 16th.
While in the previous fiscal year the trade turnover between the countries reached only $13.1 billion, in January 2023 it surpassed $39.7 billion, with the bulk – $37.3 billion – contributed by Russian exports to New Delhi.
Russian energy exports accounted for a large part of the surge in trade. India, the world's third-largest crude importer, began to boost imports of Russian oil shortly after the start of the military operation in Ukraine and the ensuing Western sanctions. The restrictions resulted in Russia losing its traditional oil buyers in the West, and forced Moscow to seek alternative markets by introducing discounts on its energy.
New Delhi, which has repeatedly stressed that energy security is its top priority, chose not to succumb to Western pressure and continued to stock up on Russian supplies even after the EU embargo and the G7 price cap on Russian oil came into force late last year.
As a result, India’s oil imports from Russia climbed to a record 1.62 million barrels per day in February, making the country India's largest crude supplier for the fifth straight month. Russia now covers 35% of all India’s oil imports, up from less than 1% of India's energy market in 2021.
https://www.rt.com/business/572800-russia-india-top-five-trade/
US Army Secretary Dan Driscoll is preparing to leave the Trump administration after what a new report has described as months of tension with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, potentially triggering another change at the army’s top echelons.
According to the Friday report by The Wall Street Journal, Driscoll is expected to step down before the end of the year and could leave his post earlier. The newspaper cited people familiar with discussions over his departure.
The Journal reported that Driscoll and his family vacated the official residence assigned to the army secretary at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall this summer, a move that could indicate he was preparing to leave the position.
The reported departure would come at a time of continuing uncertainty at the top echelons of the army.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) warns the enemies that any act of aggression against the Islamic Republic will not go unanswered.
In a statement on Thursday, the IRGC issued a “stern warning” to the enemies after US forces launched strikes against the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.
Following the US military attack on a point on the outskirts of Bandar Abbas Airport with aerial projectiles, the IRGC carried out new strikes targeting the US air base from which the attack originated in the wee hours of Thursday, it added.
“This response is a serious warning to the enemy that they should know the act of aggression will not go unanswered,” the IRGC emphasized.
The elite military force warned of a “more decisive” response if the enemy repeated any act of aggression.
It also said the responsibility for the consequences of any IRGC response lies with the aggressor.
The statement comes after the IRGC Navy on Thursday forced an American tanker to turn back. The tanker ...
