After Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia will be forced to end the war if its energy trade with India and China stops, Moscow has hit back, saying that the trade is helping India weather an energy shock at a time when the Iran war has disrupted global energy supplies.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said Moscow’s arrangements with New Delhi have helped “significantly mitigate” the impact of the US war on Iran and disruptions to global energy trade, according to RT India.
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Deep Dive
How is India managing its energy supply amid the ongoing war in Iran?
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Why can't India simply stop buying Russian oil according to Nirmala Sitharaman?
He described Russia as a “reliable exporter” capable of meeting its partners’ demand “even in the most challenging geopolitical conditions”, citing the situation around the Strait of Hormuz.
What Zelensky said
The Russian deputy foreign minister’s statement comes after Zelensky said that “Russia is basing its economy on India, sometimes Turkey and China. And it is obvious if these guys stop their energy trade with Russia, then it (Russia) will have to stop fighting the war”, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.
Not long ago, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Zelenskyy. Later, during an interaction with the media, Jaishankar said that whether India buys Russian oil or not, it would not resolve the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
{{/usCountry}}Not long ago, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar met with Zelenskyy. Later, during an interaction with the media, Jaishankar said that whether India buys Russian oil or not, it would not resolve the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine.
{{/usCountry}}Addressing a question about Ukraine’s concerns over India buying Russian oil, Jaishankar said India also needs to address the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people and that this is something other countries should respect.
India boosted its purchases of Russian oil after US-Iran tensions led to a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. However, a Reuters report said Russia’s share in India’s oil imports fell in August. India’s Russian oil imports fell 16.5% in August from the previous month to about 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd), according to the data. Russia remained India’s top oil supplier, followed by the UAE and Venezuela, Reuters reported.
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However, India's ministry of external affairs has not reacted to any claim that Russian import has fallen down.
Tariff pressure on India
Zelenskyy has also welcomed the US clearing a Russian sanctions bill under which countries importing Russian products and oil could face tariffs of up to 100%. India and China are among the major countries that could be affected by the measure.