India will continue to buy oil from Russia: Finance minister

NEW DELHI – India will continue to buy cheap oil from Russia at discounted prices, the country’s finance minister has said.

“India’s overall interest is what is kept in mind,” Nirmala Sitharaman said during a business event.

She was responding to a question about the reports that Russia is offering deep discounts on oil purchases to India and whether India would continue to buy it in view of geopolitical alignments.

Sitharaman’s remarks came a day after Daleep Singh, the US deputy national security adviser for international economics cautioned New Delhi against “rapid acceleration” in trade deals with Russia.

“What we would not like to see is a rapid acceleration of India’s imports from Russia as it relates to energy or any other exports that are currently being prohibited by the US or by other aspects of the international sanctions regime,” Singh said.

Differences between the US and India on the Ukraine war are already out in the open.

US President Joe Biden said last week that India, despite being a member of the Washington-led Quad group, is “somewhat shaky” in acting against Russia.

Sitharaman said she and Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishkankar have explained India’s “position very clearly.”

“I would put my country’s national interest first and I would put my energy security first,” she said. “If fuel is available and available in discounts, why shouldn’t I buy it? I need it for my people, so we have already started purchasing.”

India is a historical ally of Russia but has been growing closer to Washington in recent years. Since Russia declared a war on Ukraine on February 24, New Delhi has called for a peaceful solution to the crisis but refrained from openly criticizing Moscow.

On April 1, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow is ready to provide all purchases that New Delhi may make.