MOSCOW, March 24. /TASS/. The channel for settlements in the national currencies of Russia and India exists and works, according to head of the operational department of the Russian trade mission in India Evgeny Ostapkevich.

"I can say that the rubles-rupees channel really works. Colleagues from Sberbank’s branch in India confirmed it to me," he said.

At the same time, Ostapkevich added that so far, the Central Bank of India is not accepting funds from Russian banks. "This is a temporary phenomenon. The negotiations are underway," he added.

He also noted that Russian oil companies have a good chance of increasing the volume of deliveries to the Indian market. "Taking into account the refusal of several countries to purchase Russian oil products, opportunities are opening up for Russian oil companies to increase the volume of supplies," he said. "It is reported that India may buy up to 15 mln barrels of oil from Russia before the end of this year," he said.