New Delhi: Russia is prepared to sell India all the oil that it requires, its top diplomat in India has said. He also strongly resisted the new US plans to impose sanctions on nations that purchase Russian oil.
Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Denis Alipov addressed a U.S. bill authored by late Senator Lindsey Graham. The bill, which it seems would pass Congress if it is introduced by Trump, would allow the President to impose a 100% tax on the top five countries purchasing Russian oil and gas. The largest buyers of Russian petrol products now are China, India and Turkey.
Countries backing the sanctions are opting for pressure over fair deals, Alipov said. Why the countries do not just bequeath India better oil deals than Russia do, he questioned, adding that punishment would be easier than genuine competition.
The ambassador also said that there is a risk of the world being negatively affected by the oil reduction from Russia. He cited current tensions between the US and Iran, and potential issues with shipping oil via the Strait of Hormuz as reasons for world needing Russian supply. That’s an amount of oil that simply can’t be absorbed by energy markets anywhere in the world, he said.
But there is another big question here, as quoted in the several report: How much does India need to go to spend to defend its interests? India has demonstrated its ability to stand tall and safeguard its interests, he added.
This bill already had passed the U.S. Senate and was headed to the House of Representatives with opposition, the report states. Legislators are concerned it would hike fuel costs and would put too much leverage into tariff hands of Trump. As a result, the bill is probably dead until after the upcoming midterm elections in November.
Coming at a crucial juncture in the India-Russia ties. Presidents Putin and Modi recently discussed the prospects of their cooperation in their meeting held in Kyrgyzstan, and they are likely to meet again in India this month during the Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (BRICS) summit.
The figures support the close relationship the two countries have come to on energy. Russia supplied more than 50 per cent of the oil imports into India in July.
