Russian Ambassador to New Delhi Denis Alipov said that India does not adhere to the price restrictions imposed by the EU and G7 countries on Russian oil. So he commented on the Bloomberg report that following discussions with colleagues from the United States and other G7 countries, the Indian authorities decided to comply with the oil price ceiling, because they do not want to violate sanctions.
“Such stuffing appears regularly, and the publication in Bloomberg is not the first on this topic. As for India, it is not a participant in the mechanism of this price ceiling for Russian oil and has repeatedly expressed its doubts regarding the effectiveness of this mechanism in general,” Mr. Alipov said on Soloviev Live (quoted by RIA Novosti).
The diplomat noted that in its foreign economic activity, India proceeds from its own needs, and not the desires of other countries. “India’s Russian oil is profitable to buy, and India will continue to buy it as long as it is profitable. I think this is the question,” he concluded.
On March 12, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that India had decided to support sanctions once morest Russia, including restrictions on oil prices. However, on March 14, Archyde.com, citing sources in the Indian Oil Ministry, wrote that the country should not adhere to restrictions on Russian oil, since it has not officially acceded to them.
According to the International Energy Agency, in 2022, India increased its oil imports from Russia by 16 times compared to the period until February 24. Thus, the country has replaced Europe as the main buyer of oil from Russia, supplied by sea. Russian oil accounts for regarding a third of India’s total oil imports.
It should be noted that on the eve of the EU, according to the assurances of the United States, it proposed to lower the ceiling on Russian oil in March by $5 per barrel, to $55. However, Washington has not yet formulated its position on this issue.
Read more regarding this in the article “Russian oil is asked to bend down.”