 "Russia expects India's reduced oil imports to recover soon despite US curbs")
As India continues to reduce its Russian oil imports, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday said the dip may last only for “a brief period” as Moscow plans to boost supplies to New Delhi.
In a video press conference with Indian journalists, Peskov said that Russia remains an important supplier of energy to India and called for the set-up of trade mechanisms that cannot be affected by third countries.
His statement comes amid major Indian oil refiners cutting or stopping Russian oil imports because of steep US tariffs amounting to 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent levy specifically on Russian oil. Washington has also sanctioned Russia’s top oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil.
Peskov termed such tariffs as illegal, saying, “We have a deep experience in performing under regime of these illegal sanctions. We have our own technologies in doing that.”
“We do not accept all these limitations, and we are doing our best to ensure that we continue our trade. And to ensure that our purchases ensure a guaranteed supply of oil and oil products. We are managing that quite successfully,” he said, as quoted by Sputnik India.
“We’re looking forward to possibilities despite everything to ensure our right to sell oil and to ensure the right of those who want to purchase oil to ensure the right to buy our oil. We are working on creating a necessary environment for ensuring these rights,” he added.
India’s Russian oil imports continue to fall
India, the world’s third biggest oil importer, buys most of its crude from Russia. However, according to the latest data from Kpler, cited by PTI, India’s imports of Russian oil fell by nearly a third after stringent US sanctions on key Kremlin-linked exporters came into effect on November 21. Analysts cited by PTI expect the decline to deepen in December.
India’s crude oil imports from Russia stood at an average 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd) in November, making up over 35 per cent of its total supply, according to Kpler. The figure, up from 1.5–1.6 million bpd in October, is likely a five-month high as refiners front-loaded purchases before the November 21 deadline. After that, flows dropped to around 1.27 million bpd, PTI reported.
Reliance Industries, once India’s biggest buyer of Russian crude, has halted its imports. Other refiners, including Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals, Hindustan Petroleum Corp and HPCL-Mittal Energy, have also stopped purchasing Russian oil.
State-run Indian Oil Corp has placed orders with non-sanctioned suppliers, while Bharat Petroleum Corp is reportedly close to finalising fresh deals for Russian crude, according to Reuters.
Su-57, S-400 on agenda during Putin visit
Peskov also said that Su-57 fighter jets and the S-400 missile system will be on the agenda during President Vladimir Putin's two-day state visit to India on December 4 and 5 for the 23rd India–Russia Annual Summit.
“It is the best plane in the world. It’s not exaggeration. Issue will be on the agenda of Putin’s India visit. But won’t say more. Some of the competitors are not sticking business to international law. They can do bad things,” he said.
While Peskov did not share further details, the talks could involve India acquiring at least two squadrons of Su-57 fighter jets, according to a recent Business Standard report.
He added that the S-400 missile system will also be high on the agenda. “I have no doubt it will be discussed during the visit,” he said.
India–Russia trade continues to grow
Apart from crude, Russia is also a major defence supplier to India, with Sukhoi-30 jets forming the bulk of the IAF’s 29 fighter squadrons. India currently has three S-400 units, with two more pending delivery under a 2018 agreement.
In the 2023–24 fiscal year, India–Russia bilateral trade totalled $65.70 billion, comprising $4.26 billion in Indian exports and $61.44 billion in imports.
“Our trade turnover with India is now around $63 billion. Do you realise what India’s (population is)? One and a half billion people, while in Belarus there are 10 million. Our turnover with Belarus is $50 billion and with India it is $63 billion. This clearly does not correspond to our potential possibilities,” Putin said at a conference in October. Addressing the trade imbalance between the two nations, Peskov on Tuesday also said that Russia expects to increase imports from India. "There is a real imbalance in our trade. We are aware of this. We sell much more to India than we buy. We know that our Indian friends are concerned about this. Incidentally, we are jointly exploring opportunities to increase imports from India to Russia. We want to buy more from India," he said