The West sanctions Russian oil, India benefits. The subcontinent doubled its oil imports from Russia last year – and has thus become Moscow’s most important customer.
According to the government in Moscow, India has become the largest buyer of Russian oil. “India is the most important market and today India is one of our key partners in the energy sector,” said Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, according to the Interfax news agency. According to him, Russia supplied 90 million tons of oil to India last year. “That corresponds to 40 percent of India’s total needs.” Deliveries have thus doubled compared to 2022.
Nowak made his comments on the sidelines of a two-day visit by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow. Modi met Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in the Russian capital for the first time since the war began. Both heads of state discussed expanding economic cooperation. New Delhi is taking a pragmatic stance on the war in Ukraine: India is calling for a diplomatic solution, but is not condemning the war of aggression and is not participating in sanctions. On the contrary: because Russian oil is cheap due to Western sanctions, India is buying the raw material in large quantities.
Source: Stern
