Russia requests India for key spare parts after sanctions

Moscow, Dec 01: Sanctions-hit Russia has requested India for key spare parts to keep its economy running. A wish list of 500 items has been sent to New Delhi according to a Reuters report. These products include parts for cars, aircraft, and trains. The report does not mention whether these parts would be used to refit military hardware.

 

 

 

Reuters reported that the list is provisional and it is unclear how many of the items will actually be exported by India and in what quantity.

 

 

 

The wish list runs 14 pages long. For Russia’s aircraft sector, it has requested 41 items including landing gear components, fuel systems, communication systems, fire extinguishing systems, life jackets, and aviation tires. Russia’s airplanes are predominantly foreign-made and the industry is facing a severe crunch for spare parts as the west has snapped economic links with Moscow following the Ukraine war. The auto industry is also in poor shape with western brands have left the market. For its automobiles, Russia needs car engine parts like pistons, oil pumps, ignition coils, bumpers, seatbelts, and infotainment systems. Russia also needs raw materials to produce paper, paper bags, and consumer packaging and materials and equipment to produce textiles including yarns and dyes, according to the list seen by Reuters. 200 metallurgy items are also included. Russia’s development programs have been limited by the scarcity of raw materials, spare parts, and other technologies that the country would earlier import from foreign countries and suppliers. India is among several countries that Russia has reached out to for help. Russia has been a vital military partner for India for decades. Since the war, India has been purchasing discounted Russian oil rejected by the west. The export request may be a chance for India to boost its trade with Russia. However, this puts some exporters into a quandary because of the challenges in doing business with Moscow in the current geopolitical situation. A payment mechanism needs to be worked out that bypasses international systems which have expelled Russia from its network. Besides, there are fears over securing insurance too. India’s imports from Russia have surged since the onset of the war in February this year. Crude petroleum, fertilizers, and petroleum products account for the bulk of imports from Russia. Meanwhile, India’s exports have fallen since exporters are wary of the payments settlement schemes, particularly over items sanctioned by the western countries after the war. While Russia stays engaged in Ukraine, India may have the chance to offer Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul facilities to countries that use Russian hardware. India has, on various platforms, reiterated its call to end the war in Ukraine. The war has thrown up tough challenges for the energy and food security of the developing world. In his first visit to Moscow since the Russian invasion, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar earlier in November pointed out the trade imbalance with Russia and the need for making bilateral trade more sustainable. The minister had said that impediments still stand in the way of trade between both countries and that those needed to be addressed.

 

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Jaishankar was clear that the Russia-India partnership was important despite western reservations because it works to India’s advantage. “As regards the oil supply issue...there is a stress on the energy markets...created by a combination of factors. But as the world’s third-largest consumer of oil and gas, a consumer where the levels of income are not very high, it is our fundamental obligation to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access, on the most advantageous terms, to international markets,” Jaishankar had said at a news conference in Moscow.