The foreign minister of India said on Tuesday, that his country would continue to buy Russian oil because it benefits the country. Also added that commercial relations between the two countries are improving after their sixth meeting this year.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Moscow for the first time following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. His journey falls in line with Janet Yellen’s trip to New Delhi this week when she will meet with Indian officials and maybe talk about controlling the prices of Russian oil.
As its refiners purchase discounted cargoes passed over by Western purchasers, India has surpassed China, as Russia’s biggest oil consumer. Russia now accounts for an unprecedented 23% of India’s oil imports, up from just 2% prior to the invasion. Senior officials in charge of agriculture, oil and gas, ports and shipping, finance, chemicals and fertilizer, and trade were with Jaishankar, which, according to him, demonstrated the significance of relations with Russia.
Given Russia’s issues with the dollar, both parties also looked eager to increase their rupee-rouble trading.”A reliable and experienced partner, Russia. Any impartial assessment of our relationship over the years would show that it has great, much benefited both of our countries”, Jaishankar stated during a press conference with Sergei Lavrov, his Russian colleague.
Jaishankar’s response
When questioned about a plan by the Group of Seven to limit the price of Russian oil, Jaishankar responded that India had to protect its own interests as the third-largest consumer of oil and gas in the world, where income levels were low. And very honestly, we have observed that the friendship between India and Russia has benefited us in that regard, he added. Therefore, if it benefits me, I would like to continue it, the External Affairs Minister remarked.
Following ExxonMobil’s (XOM.N) departure from the Sakhalin-1, Reuters reported on Monday that India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC.NS) has requested to keep its stake in the Far Eastern oil and gas project from the new Russian operator.
Instead of denouncing Moscow’s intrusion, India has pushed for peace and diplomacy, and Jaishankar emphasized that India would support “any measure that de-risks the world economy and stabilizes global order.”
For decades, Russia has been India’s top supplier of military hardware and ranks as the country’s fourth-largest market for pharmaceuticals. To balance the bilateral trade, which is currently skewed in favor of Russia, Jaishankar suggested that India increase exports to the country.
