India on Thursday said it is working on a payment mechanism to settle trade with Russia even as Washington tries to yank New Delhi out of Moscow’s reach with support to diversify energy imports.

The Centre is focused on stabilising its economic ties with Russia and is working to devise a payment mechanism to settle trade amid Western sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.

“We have an established economic relation with Russia. Given the current circumstance post development in Ukraine, I think there is an effort by both sides to ensure that this economic relationship remains stable,” ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi told a news conference.

“It is not talking about increasing ... it is about stabilising it because this (economic) relationship exists and it’s in our interest to make sure some of this economic activity continues, and we are trying to see how we can keep that stable,” Bagchi said.

On Wednesday, the White House reiterated its desire that New Delhi does not purchase oil from Russia. “And (the US is) also making clear that we stand ready to support India as in any efforts to diversify its imports and serve as a reliable supplier,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said.

Bharat Petroleum, meanwhile, has bought 2 million barrels of Russian Urals for May loading from trader Trafigura, sources said.

Refiners in India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer, have been snapping up Russian oil through spot deals since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, taking advantage of deep discounts as other buyers back away.

With BPCL’s purchase, India has so far booked at least 16 million barrels of Russian oil since February 24, similar to imports in all of 2021.

AI cancels flights

Air India on Thursday cancelled its Delhi-Moscow service over fears that its flight insurance may not be valid in Russian skies amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine, sources said.

Shell losses

Shell says it expects to lose up to $5 billion for pulling out of Russia. The British oil giant said its decision to pull out of its projects in Russia will slash its quarterly profit by $4 billion to $5 billion.

The estimate is among the largest publicly announced financial hits by any of the hundreds of companies that have curtailed their operations in Russia .

Shell, however, made $20 billion in profit last year, and high energy prices are expected to bolster its bottom line this year — analysts expect it to make over $30 billion in 2022, according to FactSet.

(With inputs from Reuters and PTI)