The end of Delhi's “oil friendship” with Moscow. India bowed to US pressure

Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri said on Monday that his country intends to maintain supplies of energy raw materials from various sources and diversify these sources depending on needs. He emphasized that the government's goal is to provide citizens with “the right amount of energy at the right price.”

In a meeting with journalists, Misri stated that national interest is the decisive criterion when it comes to energy import decisions. He stressed that the key factors influencing India's energy policy are “adequate availability, fair prices and reliability of supply.”

– We are a developing economy. We must be aware of how available our own resources are. (…) Our priority is to protect the interests of Indian consumers in terms of energy, providing them with energy at the right price and with reliable and safe supplies, Misri said.

In response to the question whether India will continue to import crude oil from Russia, the head of the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized that, as in the case of many other countries, it is also in India's interest to ensure stable energy prices and security of supplies.

– We are not dependent on any single source and we do not intend to be. It is natural that the structure of sources may change depending on objective market conditions, he said.

Indian media recalled that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is in the process of establishing the framework for an interim trade agreement with the United States, which threatens sanctions against countries importing oil from Russia. On Friday, US President Donald Trump withdrew additional 25 percent tariffs on goods from India. Washington imposed them last year. as a penalty for importing Russian crude oil.

“India has committed to ceasing direct or indirect imports of crude oil originating from the Russian Federation,” Trump wrote in a justification for the decision.

According to Bloomberg, the imposition of tariffs led to India significantly limiting its import of raw materials from Russia. The reduction in tariffs is also the result of the framework trade agreement concluded by Washington and Delhi, which the US President announced a week ago. So far, India was the only one of the world's largest economies that did not have a trade agreement with the US. (PAP)

piu/kar/