Russia's largest trading partner is China.
Russia relies on several countries – India, Serbia and the People's Republic of China – to avoid Western sanctions.
This is reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Analysts recall information from the Financial Times (FT), citing sources in Russian government correspondence, that Russia's Industry and Trade Ministry has drawn up a plan to spend almost $1 billion to protect critical electronic components in October 2022, which reportedly included the possibility of building facilities in India to gain access to such components.
The FT reported that leaked documents show that Russia has been secretly buying sensitive dual-use electronics from India using “significant reserves” of Indian rupees accumulated by Russian banks thanks to increased oil sales to the country.
“The extent to which Russia has implemented this plan remains unclear, although ISW assesses that Russia is part of a wider effort to evade Western sanctions and procure sanctions on electronic components and equipment needed for the production of the Russian defense industry through foreign entities,” the experts noted.
Previously, ISW observed signs that foreign companies and banks, including in China, were reluctant to conduct transactions with Russian actors due to fears of secondary Western sanctions that could affect Russia's efforts to avoid sanctions.
“It appears that Russia is relying on several countries, in particular India, Serbia, and the People's Republic of China (PRC), as part of its efforts to avoid Western sanctions,” the report said.
Recall that The United States has eased sanctions against Russia concerning transactions with banks, connected with the production, supply or exchange of energy by any means.
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