India and Russia are looking to raise bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030, balance the lopsided trade, eliminate non-tariff trade barriers, and explore the possibility of a Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)-India Free Trade Area.

A joint statement issued after multiple rounds of talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday also announced that both nations plan to establish a bilateral settlement system using national currencies and introduce digital financial instruments into mutual settlements. Modi was conferred the ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ award by Putin for his contribution to fostering bilateral ties between the two countries.

Delivering an unambiguous message on the ongoing Ukraine war, the prime minister told Putin that peace efforts do not succeed in the amid of bombs and bullets, and also flagged concerns over a deadly missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv, saying “when we see innocent children dying, then it is heart-wrenching and that pain is very horrible.” The Russian president lauded Modi for “trying to find ways to resolve the Ukraine crisis, primarily through peaceful means”.