India has stated that it has been purchasing Russian oil since 2022 at the request of the United States
Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar stated at an event in Finland that India began actively purchasing Russian oil after 2022 due to its attractive price and availability. At the same time, these purchases were in line with the wishes of the United States, which sought to prevent a sharp rise in global oil prices.
“At that time, the U.S. specifically asked India to buy Russian oil to stabilize the oil market. I buy oil based on cost and availability,” Jaishankar said.
After the U.S. imposed sanctions on Russia in 2022 over its invasion of Ukraine and set a price cap on its oil, India became one of the main buyers.
“At that time, a significant portion of the oil available on the market came from Russia, as Europeans were buying up oil from the Middle East, which was our traditional supplier. Circumstances pushed us in a certain direction,” said the Indian foreign minister.
Jaishankar also criticized the periodic U.S. sanctions on Russian oil.
“Let’s not pretend that this is about some grand principles. I don’t think there’s really any reason to be hypocritical on this issue,” he said.
This was reported by Bloomberg.
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