NEW DELHI, December 25. /TASS/. India and Russia are adapting to Western restrictions against Russia and building mechanisms that allow for increasing bilateral trade volumes despite the difficulties arising from sanctions, Russia’s Trade Representative in India Andrey Sobolev told TASS.

"External sanctions imposed by a number of Western countries on Russia are creating some additional difficulties, primarily in the financial sector, logistics, and insurance," he said, adding though that "Russian-Indian cooperation demonstrates a high degree of adaptability and pragmatism."

The parties are consistently developing alternative payment mechanisms, logistics, and contractual models, Sobolev noted. "This allows us not only to maintain but also to increase mutual trade volumes, focusing on long-term interests and the real economic potential of cooperation," he said.

Trade turnover between Russia and India continued to grow this year, having surpassed $70 bln, the trade envoy said. "It is fundamentally important that this growth is accompanied by a gradual change in the structure of trade," he stressed, adding that Moscow and New Delhi aim to reach the $100 billion level by 2030.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's state visit to New Delhi on December 4-5 marked a significant milestone in the development of Russian-Indian trade and economic relations and confirmed the nature of cooperation at the level of a privileged strategic partnership, Sobolev emphasized. "The key outcome was the signing and approval of <...> 30 documents that form a long-term basis for expanding trade, economic, and investment cooperation. The agreements reached make it possible to speak not only about expanding the scope of cooperation, but also about the qualitative deepening of the Russian-Indian economic partnership focused on joint projects, investments, and the formation of sustainable value chains," he said.