India signals it will continue to buy oil from Russia

Al Jazeera:

India will prioritize its own energy needs and continue to buy oil from Russia, its foreign minister has indicated as Western governments implemented a price cap to squeeze Moscow’s earnings from oil exports.

Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar made the comments on Monday after holding talks with his visiting German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock. Jaishankar said it isn’t right for European countries to prioritise their energy needs but “ask India to do something else”.

“Europe will make the choices it will make. It is their right,” he told reporters.

India has so far not committed to the $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian oil set by the European Union and Group of Seven major industrialized countries. The cap, which came into effect on Monday, is an attempt by Western governments to limit fossil fuel earnings that support Moscow’s military and invasion of Ukraine while also avoiding a possible price spike if Russia’s oil is suddenly taken off the global market.

Jaishankar did not make any direct reference to the price cap but said the EU was importing more fossil fuel from Russia than India. Indian officials have defended buying oil from Russia, saying its lower price benefits India.

Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India has steadily increased its purchases of discounted Russian oil. Those imports hit a record high in October, and Russia became India’s top oil supplier in terms of barrels per day, the Press Trust of India news agency said, quoting data from energy tracker Vortexa.