Russia is one of the oldest allies and supporters of India but one decision which even the Russians can’t lend their support to, is demonetization.
The reason behind Russia’s unhappiness with demonetization is the cash crunch which the Russian embassy is facing due to limit on the withdrawal of cash.
As per ET, Alexander Kadakin, the Russian ambassador to India, has written a letter to ministry of External Affairs, protesting against the withdrawal limit of cash in strong words, saying,
“Please just imagine if we in Moscow mirror this order of SBI (State Bank of India) when 50,000 roubles will not be enough to pay for a decent dinner in a restaurant, not to mention functioning of such a big embassy as ours in New Delhi or India’s in Moscow.”
Russian embassy has a staff of 200 and the weekly withdrawal limit for the embassy is Rs. 50,000 which means that each employee gets Rs. 250 for the whole week.
However, Russia is not the only country to register their protest against the strict withdrawal limits which have been fixed after the demonetization has been imposed. Earlier Kazakhstan, Ethiopia, Sudan and Ukraine have also communicated their protest to India regarding the strict limit on cash withdrawal.
Well, let’s wait and watch the reaction of Indian government on this matter!