Buying oil from Russia is to India's advantage, says S Jaishankar

Says India's obligation is to ensure consumers get best access on 'most advantageous' terms

India will continue buying Russian oil as it is advantageous for the country, Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said on Tuesday after meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.
 

India has emerged as Russia’s largest oil customer after China, as refiners snap up discounted Russian oil shunned by Western buyers over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and a traditional ally of Russia, has not explicitly condemned what Russia calls its “special military operation in Ukraine”. “It is our fundamental obligation to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access on most advantageous terms to international (oil and gas) markets,” said Jaishankar.
 

“In that respect we have seen that the India and Russia relationship has worked to advantage. So if it works to my advantage I would keep that going.” The statement comes a month ahead of the US and its allies in the Group of Seven rich nations taking steps to prevent Russia from profiting from oil by putting a cap on prices.
 

Jaishankar said India and Russia had an “exceptionally” steady and time-tested relationship and the objective was to fashion a balanced, mutually beneficial, and long-term engagement in the backdrop of the increasing economic cooperation.
 

India’s diesel exports to Europe have jumped after the Ukraine war, according to media reports. A report by Refinitiv’s Commodity Research said Indian refiners had raised their exports to Europe, averaging at 730,000 million tonne per month post-invasion, or 21 per cent of its total exports of 2.64 mt/month, peaking at a high of 1.1 mt in March, versus the pre-invasion average of 570,000 mt/month.

New Delhi to benefit from cap on Russian oil price, says Janet Yellen
 

India will “benefit” from the proposed price cap on oil, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said, arguing that the United States does not want Russia to “profit unduly” from the war by enjoying prices that are essentially very high due to its Ukrainian invasion. Developing countries like India and China have been increasingly buying discounted Russian oil as global energy prices remain high and Western nations seek to scale down their reliance on Russian energy.
 

“We want Russian oil to continue to supply global markets; stay on the market. But we want to make sure that Russia doesn’t profit unduly from the war by enjoying prices that are essentially very high due to the war,” Yellen said.
 

EU dims hopes for price cap to contain soaring gas costs
The European Union’s executive signaled it does not see a price cap on imported natural gas as the best tool to rein in the energy crisis and instead suggested a plan that would spread the soaring costs over time.