'None of our business': German envoy on India's oil import from Russia

He said that India can chip in to find a solution to Russia-Ukraine war at some stage.

German Ambassador to India Dr Philipp Ackermann on Wednesday said that India buying oil from Russia is "none of our business" and cannot blame any government for buying oil at low price.

"India buying oil from Russia is none of our business basically. That's something which the Indian Government decides and as you get it at a very low price, I cannot blame any government who buys it," ANI quoted Ackermann as saying. His comments come ahead of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's visit to India on February 25 and 26.

He said that India can chip in to find a solution to the Russia-Ukraine war at some stage. "But we would like to see some Indian engagement at some stage. India is very appropriate candidate at some stage may be to come up with some solution. But, I don't think this is the time now. I say this with all due caution because we have listened to what Putin said yesterday. When you want to find a solution to the conflict, you need two parties to be prepared to find this solution," he added.

The West has been critical over India's decision to buy oil from Russia at a cheaper rate following the Russia-Ukraine war. However, India has constantly defended its move saying the country's energy purchases from Russia in a month are less than what Europe buys in an afternoon.

"If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe. We do buy some energy, which is necessary for our energy security. But I suspect looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon," Jaishankar told a reporter when asked about India's oil purchase from Russia," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had earlier said while responding to a question from reporter during his visit to the US.

The minister in December reminded the Western countries that its oil purchase from Russia was six times higher than what India had imported between 24 and November 17. "The European Union, between February 24 and November 17, has imported more fossil fuel from Russia than the next 10 countries combined. As far as India is concerned, the oil import by the EU is about six times as compared to the country. Gas is infinite times because we don't import... it's about 50 billion dollars," Jaishankar claimed.

India's Russian oil imports climbed to a record 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) in January, up 9.2% from December, with Moscow still the top monthly oil seller to New Delhi, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported citing data from trade sources. Refiners in India, which rarely used to buy Russian oil because of costly logistics, have emerged as Russia's key oil client, snapping up discounted crude shunned by Western nations after Russia declared war on Ukraine in February 2022.

The fuel purchased from Russia is being refined into fuel and sent to Europe and the US. It has to be noted that once refined the fuel is not considered to be of Russian origin.