India has become the second-largest supplier of limited critical technology to Russia, U.S. and European officials said, underscoring a challenge to President Vladimir Putin's efforts to end exports of fuel for the war machine.
Indian exports of restricted items such as microchips, circuits and machine tools exceeded $60 million in both April and May, almost doubling from previous months this year, and rising to $95 million in July. . Personal assessment. Only China overtook India.
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Some of them said what was more frustrating for Ukraine's allies was that envoys who raised the issue received little response from their Indian counterparts. When asked about this trend, India's Ministry of External Affairs declined to comment.
The latest figures mean that about one-fifth of sensitive technology going to Russia's military-industrial complex arrives there through India, officials say.
The new data highlights the difficulties the United States and its allies have faced in limiting Russia's combat capabilities in Ukraine in the two and a half years since Putin's forces invaded. Most such dual-use items are banned from direct export to Russia, so the country resorts to purchasing them from third countries – sometimes from unwitting subsidiaries of Western companies or networks of intermediaries.
A State Department spokesman said Friday that the department would reiterate its growing concern about Indian government officials and companies.
The United States and the European Union have focused most of their efforts on a list of technologies found in or required to build Russian weapons.
As allies work to block some of these routes – Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates are the two main transshipment points – new transshipment hubs have emerged. According to People magazine, these are India, Malaysia and Thailand.
India's role in exporting such goods poses another challenge as U.S. and EU policymakers seek to build partnerships with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government even as it cultivates ties with Putin. India has become a major buyer of Russian oil despite allied efforts to limit sales.
According to officials, the main driver of this change is the huge reserves of cash that Russia has from oil sales
India's role as a transhipment point has made it the focus of EU and US sanctions agencies in recent months. Officials from these countries have made several visits in an attempt to restrict supplies, and several Indian companies have been placed under Western sanctions.
In July, U.S. Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyomo wrote a letter to senior officials at the Confederation of Indian Industry warning of the risk of sanctions against Indian companies and banks doing business with Russian military industrial bases, according to a copy of the letter obtained by Bloomberg News.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been modified by Business Standards staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)