India will continue to buy crude oil from Russia in defiance of sanctions

New Delhi, Apr. 1 (EFE) .- Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday that her country had bought and will continue to buy oil from Russia despite sanctions and international pressure to isolate Moscow after the invasion of Ukraine.

“If fuel is available and available at a discount, why shouldn’t we buy it? I need it, so we have already bought it,” the Indian minister replied during a business event. Activities at this time.

“We have already started buying and we have got substantial quantities of barrels (oil). I will say supply for three or four days. I will put our national interest first and our energy security first,” Sitharaman continued.

The statement coincides with the Indian capital of Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who today met with representatives of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to confirm his alliance with India.

After a working group meeting, Lavrov promised that if India wanted to buy “anything” from Russia, his country would be ready to discuss and reach “mutually acceptable forms of cooperation.”

India has recently called on the United States not to politicize crude oil purchases despite international sanctions because New Delhi “must continue to focus on competitive energy sources” because, unlike other countries, it must import 85%. The oil they use.

According to the Indian government, about 85% of its crude oil demand (5 million barrels a day) should be imported, although so far it has been “Russia a small supplier” because there are no bilateral import agreements and it is less than 1. % Of your needs.

Currently, most of India’s imports come from Iraq (23%), Saudi Arabia (18%), the United Arab Emirates (11%) or the United States (7.3%), which is expected to increase to 11% this year. .

India has so far expressed a neutral stance against the invasion of Ukraine, despite calls from the international community, especially the United States, one of its biggest allies.

It did not exclude itself from its regular relations with Moscow, one of the main suppliers of military equipment to the Asian nation.

Despite India’s call for a ceasefire and talks, it did not attend a UN referendum to condemn Russia’s invasion or blame it on the humanitarian crisis.

Underscoring the need for toughening sanctions against Moscow, UK Secretary of State Lizard Truss arrived in New Delhi yesterday. EFE

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