Govt likely to wait until ceasefire to announce Russia payments deal

The Centre is unlikely to announce an agreement over payment mechanism with Russia until a ceasefire is declared in the Ukraine war, said people in the know. An inter-ministerial group headed by the finance ministry has been meeting regularly for over a month to analyse and discuss payment mechanisms that can work under the current circumstances and ensure the trade between India and Russia is not disrupted.

The US had recently said that there would be consequences for countries actively attempting to “circumvent or backfill” American sanctions against Russia. While the trade between Russia and India through their local currencies