New York: Russia and India develop trade despite sanctions
Moscow and New Delhi are considering new ways to deepen trade and economic cooperation. In particular, it is planned to finally use the Vladivostok–Chennai sea corridor. The deployment of capacities for transshipment of energy resources and fertilizers is being discussed, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov told Izvestia. This will reduce the delivery time from 40 to 24 days. However, it can take up to 10 years to launch, and construction requires large investments from both the government and the private sector. However, the land route of trade between Russia and India is also developing: work is being completed on the railway line between Zahedan and the port of Chabahar — they plan to launch a new "entry point" to the North–South trade corridor for India before the end of the year.
Russia and India to facilitate energy trade
For years, the West, led by the United States, has been trying in every possible way to stop Russia's cooperation with one of its key importers— India. A price ceiling of $60 per barrel was imposed, tankers were banned from transporting such raw materials, and Western companies were banned from insuring and financing transactions. In addition, secondary sanctions have been imposed against private Indian businesses, and key Russian banks have been disconnected from SWIFT. However, these restrictions have not stopped bilateral trade.
According to the Ministry of Trade of India, in the fiscal year ended in March 2026, the trade turnover reached a record $68.69 billion. The leaders of both countries also confirmed their intention to increase trade volumes to $100 billion by 2030.
The basis of this cooperation remains energy trade, which has shown high resilience in the face of Western sanctions. In 2025 and the first half of 2026, Russia steadily supplied India with an average of 1.6-2.1 million barrels of oil per day. However, the traditional routes are now complicated, and the Eastern Sea Corridor should be an alternative. But for its stable operation, it is necessary to develop the port infrastructure in the Far East.
—Moscow and New Delhi maintain regular contacts on the issue of creating a sustainable cargo flow along the Eastern Sea Corridor (EAC)," Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov told Izvestia. — The creation of infrastructural and commercial opportunities is on the agenda, including the deployment of oil, LNG and fertilizer transshipment facilities in Vladivostok for shipments to India.
The launch of the Vladivostok–Chennai Naval Shipyard will reduce cargo delivery time by 40%, from 40 to 24 days, for example, compared with the Suez Canal. The distance between the ports is about 5.6 thousand nautical miles, while the traditional route from St. Petersburg to Mumbai via Suez exceeds 8.7 thousand nautical miles.
Izvestia also sent a request to the Indian Embassy regarding this project.
It may take from four to ten years to implement due to lengthy design, environmental assessments, and complex engineering construction. The creation of high-tech LNG terminals alone requires up to eight years. For example, the construction of the Murmansk LNG plant and a transshipment complex with a similar capacity of 20.4 million tons is planned to be fully completed only by 2032.
Anastasia Gavrilova, a specialist in international relations at the Higher School of Economics, noted that creating such a large-scale network would require large investments from the government and large private businesses. But such projects are always focused on the long term. And the hub in Vladivostok will form the economic framework of cooperation between the countries for decades to come, she added.
Russia remains the largest supplier of oil to India since 2022, ahead of Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in terms of volume. In modern realities, the sudden disappearance of Russian raw materials will provoke a severe shortage in the Indian market, says Igor Yushkov, a leading analyst at the National Energy Security Fund. The Indian side has built a highly profitable business on these supplies. Its giant coastal refineries buy Russian oil at significant discounts, refine it into gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, and then resell it on the world market. This provides New Delhi with a huge influx of currency.
What other routes will be available for Russia and India
There are other options. The prospect of connecting the route with the Transarctic Transport Corridor is being discussed, which will connect the east coast of India with the Northwest and the Arctic zone of Russia.
"There are good prerequisites for intensifying the dialogue with New Delhi on Indian participation in the development of the Northern Sea Route,— Alipov added.
The traditional route through the Suez Canal, the Bab el-Mandeb and the Straits of Hormuz, as well as European ports are now vulnerable, logistically overloaded and unsafe, Gavrilova noted. That is why Russia and India are actively investing in the creation of sovereign transport arteries protected from external shocks.
The crisis in the Red Sea due to the aggressive actions of the Yemeni Houthis deprives India of stable exports from Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Until 2022, these countries were key oil suppliers to the republic due to the minimal transport leverage, but the current disruptions in their shipments forced New Delhi to increase purchases of Russian raw materials, Yushkov stated.
This is where the role of the North–South MTC increases. The escalation in the Red Sea has clearly confirmed the need to develop this highway, which Moscow and New Delhi consider as a strategic artery for multimodal transportation, Denis Alipov emphasized.
— Despite the current sanctions regime against Iran, we note the annual increase in freight traffic through the North–South Transport Corridor, which by the end of 2025 exceeded 21.5 million tons (plus 39% over the past five years). In the context of the Middle East crisis, positive dynamics remain — in the first half of 2026, traffic volume increased by 10%, and a record increase of up to 98% was recorded at a number of sites," the diplomat added.
Work is currently being completed on a railway route between Iran's Zahedan and the port of Chabahar, a new promising entry point into the corridor for India, the Russian ambassador noted. A full-fledged launch of the branch line will increase the capacity of the main line to 100 million tons per year. It will also reduce the delivery time of goods from India to Russia and Europe from 45 to 20-25 days, and costs by 20-30%.
For now, India's direct overland trade with Russia and Central Asia is impossible due to the intermittent conflict between New Delhi and Islamabad. To circumvent this barrier, India has leased the Iranian port of Chabahar on a long-term basis. The new railway to Zahedan will connect this maritime hub with the general railway network of Iran, from where trains will be able to go north to the Caspian Sea or to Turkmenistan, and then to Russia. The start of traffic on this section is expected before the end of 2026.
While the Eastern Sea Corridor and the Northern Sea Route are being developed for large–tonnage vessels with energy resources, the North-South route through Iran is focused on the delivery of food, consumer goods, industrial equipment and fertilizers. Russia buys pharmaceutical products, automotive components, parts for special equipment, organic chemicals and polymers on the Indian market, stated Gavrilova. The HSE specialist also recalled that food security is critically important for New Delhi, and the stability of the local agricultural sector directly depends on the supply of Russian mineral fertilizers.
The development of sovereign transport infrastructure turns Russia and India into key architects of a new Eurasian security, where trade is protected from American sanctions and the supply of vital resources no longer depends on stability in the Middle East region. Ultimately, this transport breakthrough will enhance the trade autonomy of the powers for decades to come.
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