Russian Banks Open to Trading in National Currencies With India, VTB Chair Says

NEW DELHI (Sputnik) - Russian banks are open to trading with India in national currencies, rubles and rupees, the chairman of Russia’s second-largest VTB Bank said Friday.

"Russian banks are ready to trade in rupees and in rubles … We should develop a mechanism of trading in our own currencies. This is what I think both countries now support," Andrey Kostin, chairman of VTB Bank Management Board, told CNBC TV18.

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He said the countries could achieve "good results" within the next two years if they really put their minds to it and boost bilateral trade.

"The more trade we have the more local currency we have and the easier it is for such transactions," the banker pointed out.

Kostin was among Russian bankers who travelled to India on Friday to attend a business forum in New Delhi that co-coincided with President Vladimir Putin's visit for talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The leaders agreed to raise trade from the annual $10 billion to $30 billion by 2025.