Lavrov arrives on 2-day visit: Russia oil at $35 less than pre-war rate

India also gets offer of rupee-ruble-denominated payments

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov arrived in India on Thursday on a two-day official visit even as the country offered India steep discounts on the direct sale of oil as mounting international pressure lowered the appetite for its barrels elsewhere following the invasion of Ukraine. 

Russia is offering its flagship Urals grade to India at discounts of as much as $35 a barrel on prices before the war to lure India to lift more shipments, the people said, asking not to be identified. 

Headline Brent prices have risen about $10 since then, implying an even larger reduction from current prices.

Russia wants India