Russia proposes paying for Bangladesh’s nuclear plant in Indian rupees to dodge US sanctions

Russia wants to settle its trade with Bangladesh using Indian rupees instead of dollars, a move designed to sidestep US sanctions that have effectively frozen conventional banking channels since the Ukraine invasion in 2022. The primary motivation: keeping payments flowing for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant, a major Russian infrastructure project in Bangladesh financed through Rosatom. The proposal, which surfaced on July 29, reportedly includes plans for a dedicated bilateral payment infrastructure and possibly opening a branch of a Russian bank in Dhaka. Bangladeshi officials are currently reviewing the mechanism, with further discussions expected during the Bangladesh-Russia Intergovernmental Commission meetings slated for September or October 2026. When the dollar door closes, countries start looking for windows Previous efforts to settle in Chinese yuan reportedly fell through, leaving both countries scrambling for alternatives. The Indian rupee makes geographic and economic sense: Bangladesh exports approximately $1.8 billion worth of goods to India annually, meaning rupee liquidity already exists within its financial system. For Bangladesh, the country needs the nuclear pla...