Russia envoy: India buys oil for itself, not to help Moscow — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Denis Alipov told DD News and ANI that India buys Russian oil for its own national development and welfare, not to help Moscow, while criticizing Western sanctions as "pressure tactics" and saying Russia would supply "as much oil as India needs."
- A proposed US Senate bill would allow tariffs of up to 100% on imports from the five largest buyers of Russian crude oil or natural gas, with India among those at risk.
- S Jaishankar, after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv, said India's Russian oil purchases would not determine the outcome of the Ukraine war, which he said would be "solved by dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation."
- Russia remained India's largest crude oil supplier in August at approximately 2.08 million barrels per day, down 26.3% from July's record 2.82 million bpd, with Russian oil accounting for about 45% of India's total crude imports.
- India sharply increased imports of discounted Russian crude after the Ukraine war began in 2022, making Moscow one of its biggest oil suppliers.
Why it matters: India's External Affairs Minister told Zelenskyy directly that oil purchases won't end the war, signaling New Delhi's diplomatic balancing act — defending affordable energy access for 1.4 billion citizens while resisting punitive 100% US tariffs under consideration against major Russian crude buyers.
Ask SkimNews
