"Peru promises it will not join anti-Russian sanctions"

Turkey is going to open a route from Russia to Peru next year, Russian Ambassador to Lima Igor Romanchenko told Izvestia. The diplomat noted that the launch of direct air service between the countries is possible in the future, but now it is unprofitable due to low passenger traffic. Trade turnover between Russia and Peru is now at the level of $500-800 million a year. At the same time, our nitrogen fertilizers meet about 65-70% of the needs of this country. The authorities in Lima promise that they will not join the sanctions against Russia. However, the so-called secondary measures are in force here, and local banks are afraid to cooperate with the Russian side. The prospects of using Mir cards in the republic, the dynamics of bilateral trade and Peruvians' interest in BRICS are discussed in Igor Romanchenko's exclusive interview with Izvestia.

"Russian nitrogen fertilizers provide about 65-70% of Peru's needs"

- On November 15-16, the APEC Leaders' Summit was held in Peru. The Russian delegation was represented by Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Overchuk. How would you assess the results of the summit?

- As the head of our delegation stated, Russia is satisfied with the final declaration of the APEC summit in Peru; it takes into account Russian interests. It is fully consensual in nature and does not contain artificially politicized subjects.

- Is a return visit of Peruvian officials to Russia possible?

- Everything is possible. So far there are no specific talks on this subject.

- Over the last decade, the share of APEC partners in Russia's foreign trade turnover has grown from 29% to almost 49%, of course, with China playing a decisive role. In your estimation, what was Peru's contribution?

- In the last ten years, the volume of mutual trade between Russia and Peru has not changed and remains, according to official statistics, at the level of $500 million per year. In reality, this figure is about $700-800 million a year.

- But what are the dynamics of bilateral trade now?

- Unfortunately, there is no actual dynamics. As I have already said, we stand at the level of $500-800 million a year, and the volumes of exports and imports are approximately equal to each other.

- Is the level of mutual investments growing? If yes, in what areas?

- Some firms are coming in. For example, Kaspersky's firm is working here, Yandex cab service (Yango) is operating, but so far all this is only at the beginning of its journey. To say that we have made big investments here would be wrong. In turn, the Peruvians are also starting to invest in some warehouses and even assembly plants. For example, in the field of mining processing. But all this is still at the initial stage.

- It is known that Russia buys fruits and vegetables, fish, seafood, coffee, cocoa, oilseeds in Peru, and supplies cereals and fertilizers. How much demand is there for Russian fertilizers on the Peruvian market?

- Russian nitrogen fertilizers meet about 65-70% of Peru's needs. But we should not forget that these fertilizers are actually actively used in the production of explosives for mining operations, and here our percentage is higher - we provide about 95-100% of all the explosives required by the Peruvian mining industry. And it requires a lot, because for Peruvians this industry is one of the basic sectors of the economy.

"The Turks are going to open an air route from Russia to Peru."

- Since 2011 there has been a visa-free regime between Russia and Peru. How attractive is Peru now for Russian tourists? How has the dynamics of tourist traffic from Russia to Peru changed since 2022?

- The point is that visa-free entry is a good topic, but there are no statistics, and it is very difficult to determine how many of our tourists have come here. In any case, in recent years - after travel via European countries became noticeably more complicated - flight prices have risen sharply, which could not but lead to a certain reduction in our tourists. Nevertheless, people are traveling here and will continue to do so, and that is a good thing.

- Now direct flights from Russia to Latin American countries are established with Cuba and Venezuela. What is the prospect of establishing direct flights between Russia and Peru?

- I have the impression that so far the volume of passenger traffic does not make it profitable to open this type of line, but everything is possible.

We know that the Turks are going to open an air route from Russia to Peru in 2025. But to be honest, we have not heard of us working together with the Turks on the route.

- In October it became known that in the capital of Nicaragua, Managua, it became possible to withdraw money from "Mir" cards. However, so far it is possible to do it with the help of one ATM. Is it possible that such ATMs will appear in Peru?

- I doubt it very much. Peru has not joined the anti-Russian sanctions and firmly promises that it will not join them. At the same time, the so-called secondary sanctions are in force here, and local banks are afraid to cooperate with us. Therefore, we will see how events will develop in the world as a whole, but unfortunately we cannot expect interbank cooperation in the near future.

- Does Peru demonstrate a desire to cooperate with BRICS?

- The country has been following the BRICS summit in Kazan with great attention. We note the keen interest of the local public in the format of international cooperation proposed by the BRICS aimed at finding effective and equitable solutions to acute development problems.

We can see from the active participation of the local expert community in the scientific conference organized by the Embassy at St. Mark's National University, which was attended by ambassadors of the BRICS countries in Peru and representatives of specialized international research centers, that the "attraction" to BRICS comes from below. This is evidenced by the interest of the academic and journalistic communities of the host country in discussing the topics of the association, as well as the active participation of numerous delegations of Peruvian local authorities in the annual BRICS+ Municipal Forum, the only unique mechanism open to all countries of the world. However, the Peruvian government has not made any official statements on cooperation with BRICS.