India has become the largest customer of Russian oil after China – Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Yellen visits New Delhi
THE India will continue to buy Russian oil because it is in the country’s interest, the Indian foreign minister said after meeting his Russian counterpart today for the fifth time this year, adding that the two countries are expanding trade ties.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is visiting Moscow for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in February. His visit comes as US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen visits New Delhi this week for talks with Indian officials, possibly discussing a cap on Russian oil prices.
India has become the biggest customer of Russian oil after China, as its refiners rush to absorb discounted cargoes that are being shunned by Western buyers. Russia’s share of India’s oil imports jumped to a record high of 23 percent in September, up from about 2 percent before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Jaishankar is accompanied by senior officials responsible for agriculture, oil and gas, ports and shipping, finance, chemicals and fertilizers and trade – which he said shows the importance of ties with Russia . Both sides are keen to expand rupee-ruble trade given Russia’s problems with the dollar.
“Russia is a stable and time-tested partner. Any objective assessment of our decades-long relationship would confirm that it serves both our countries very well,” Jaishankar said during a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
Asked about the G7’s plan to cap the price of Russian oil, Jaishankar said India as the world’s third largest oil and gas consumer, where income levels are not that high, has to look at the interests her.
“And in that sense, quite frankly, we’ve seen that India-Russia relations have worked to our advantage,” Jaishankar said, adding that “so if it’s working to my advantage, I’d like it to continue.”
Reuters reported on Monday that India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp has applied to the new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-1 project, following the exit of ExxonMobil, to retain its stake in the Russian Far East oil and gas project. .
India has not condemned Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but has called for peace and dialogue, and Jainshakar has reiterated that India will “support any initiative that reduces risks to the global economy and stabilizes the global order”.
Russia has been India’s largest supplier of military equipment for decades and is the fourth largest market for India’s pharmaceuticals. Jaishankar also said that India should promote its exports to Russia to balance the bilateral trade relations which are currently closing towards Russia.
RES-EMP
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