No sanctions on India for Russian oil purchase: US

New Delhi, Feb 09: The United States is not planning to impose any sanctions on India, amid the fact New Delhi exporting record-high Russian oil despite the European Union and West imposing a price cap on energy resources over Ukraine invasion.

"I want to be clear, we are not looking to sanction India. Our partnership with India is one of our most consequential relationships," said Donfried, who also serves as Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs.

She was responding to queries by the press on the statements made by Oleksander Merezhko, a senior Ukrainian lawmaker who called for India to be sanctioned if it continued purchases of Russian oil.

Assistant-Secretary of State for Energy Resources Geoffrey Pyatt also weighed in on reports that the West's price cap scheme on Russian oil was underperforming.

"Our very strong conclusion, including from our best global market experts at the Treasury with the price cap coalition is working. The price cap is having the intended effect and you only need to look at the dramatic spread between the Urals price of crude oil today and the global market price to see that we are achieving our goal of minimizing the resources which Russia receives from its oil," said Pyatt, who has also served in New Delhi as Deputy Chief of Mission at the American Embassy.

Indian purchases of Russian oil have increased steadily with Moscow displacing traditional heavyweights like Iraq and Saudi Arabia to become India's top supplier of oil.

Some Western countries have imposed economic sanctions on Russia aiming to hurt Moscow's ability to trade and supply oil to other countries, including India.

However, India's continued reliance on Russian oil, which the West sees as indirect support to Russia's economy and potentially undermines the effectiveness of Western sanctions.

It is also important to note that energy is a critical issue for many countries, including India, and it is in their national interest to secure reliable and affordable sources of energy. As such, India's relationship with Russia in the oil sector should be seen in this context, as part of India's efforts to meet its energy needs and ensure energy security.