India's foreign minister S Jaishankar strongly defended India's rising oil imports from Russia, claiming that energy relations with Moscow have benefited India and that it was in India's best interests to continue the purchases.
Asked about the Western pressure on India to limit trade ties with Russia, after a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Jaishankar stated that India's “fundamental obligation” is to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access, on the most advantageous terms, to international markets.
The energy markets are under pressure. We have a fundamental responsibility to make sure that Indian consumers have the best possible access, on the most favourable terms, to foreign markets as the third largest consumer of oil and gas in the world - a customer with a relatively low level of income. In that respect, we have quite honestly seen that the India-Russia relationship has worked to our advantage. If it works to my advantage, I would like to keep that going,” said Jaishankar after his meeting with Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, as he emphasised the importance of India’s “time-tested” relationship with Russia.
Jaishankar's comments also came ahead of Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, who is expected to visit India later this week and ask for support for a price ceiling on Russian oil. India now purchases oil at a reduced price from Russia and has not yet expressed any support for the suggested cap. Lavrov stated Russia will work to increase India's energy imports, and there are promising opportunities for energy cooperation, including the supply of hydrocarbons to India. The two sides also explored combined manufacturing of contemporary weaponry and methods for settling trade payments in national currencies.
