New Delhi is buying oil from Russia for its own development and not to help Moscow, Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said recently.
While speaking to DD News, Alipov said, “India does not buy Russian oil for the sake of helping Russia. It is buying oil for itself and its own national development.”
Alipov had, on Friday, said Moscow remains committed to fulfilling New Delhi's energy demands, while slamming Western secondary sanctions. India's purchase of Russian crude surged after 2022 after G7 and EU price caps on energy from Moscow.
The United States has, in the past, imposed tariffs on Indian goods over Russian energy purchases, including a 25 per cent duty last year. This was withdrawn earlier this year in February after New Delhi and Washington reached a framework for an interim agreement for a trade deal.
However, the tariff threat remains, with a Bill tabled in the US Senate which proposes imposition of tariffs of up to 100% on all goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil. India is currently the second largest buyer of Russian crude.
{{/usCountry}}However, the tariff threat remains, with a Bill tabled in the US Senate which proposes imposition of tariffs of up to 100% on all goods from the five largest importers of Russian crude oil. India is currently the second largest buyer of Russian crude.
{{/usCountry}}Also Read | How US bill proposing 100% tariffs over Russian oil purchase could hurt India
'India has shown that it's able to stand its ground': Russian envoy
Russian envoy Alipov, while speaking to ANI news agency, said that India had in the past “shown that its able to stand its ground and defend its national interests.”
“And when we speak about the sanctions pertaining to oil trade, the tariffs are also related to the cooperation between Russia and India in oil supplies. These interests are paramount for India,” the Russian ambassador to India said.
He said that Moscow was ready to supply “as much oil as India needs”, while criticising Western sanctions as “pressure tactics”. “Unfortunately, those who impose sanctions and tariffs have taken the path of pressure tactics instead of honest cooperation, which prevents those countries from offering a better deal to India in oil than us,” Alipov stated, according to ANI.
Also Read | Sanction-proofing India’s interests and autonomy
‘Buying or not buying Russian oil won’t solve Ukraine crisis’: Jaishankar highlights India's energy needs
External affairs minister S Jaishankar, earlier this week, said that India's decision to purchase or not purchase Russian oil would have no effect on the crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
Jaishankar, who made the remarks after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, was responding to a question from the media about Ukraine’s concerns over India buying Russian oil.
“I think it’s also important that all of you get the challenges of providing for energy for 1.4 billion people at a time when the world energy situation is very, very difficult,” Jaishankar said. “This conflict, which is today in its fifth year, will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or minerals or metals or fertiliser. This conflict will be solved by dialogue, by diplomacy, by negotiation,” he added.