On US warning on oil purchase from Russia, India makes a strong comeback

New Delhi, Apr 01: External Affairs Minister, Dr. S Jaishankar said that the European nations were among the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas. He made the remarks at a conversation with his British counterpart Liz Truss who was on a day long visit to New Delhi.

Jaishankar defended India's decision to obtain good deals for energy supplies amidst the volatility in global markets. He was responding to a question on India taking up Russia's offer of crude oil at discounted prices.

It is interesting because we have seen for some time what looks like a campaign on the issue, Jaishankar said while pointing out that Europe has purchased 15 per cent more oil and gas from Russia in March than February.

With the oil prices going up, I think it is natural for countries to go out into the market and look for what are good deals for their people he added. He said that the major buyer of Russian oil and gas were from Europe, while India's energy supplies are from the Middle East and almost 8 per cent is from the US. Less than 1 per cent of India's crude purchases from Russia, he added.

I am pretty sure that if we wait another two to three months and actually look at who are the bigger buyers of Russian oil and gas, he added. I suspect that the list would not be too different from what it used to be and I suspect we will not be in the top 10 on the list, Dr. Jaishankar said.

The remarks came just hours after US deputy national security adviser Daleep Singh said that Washington does not want to see any rapid acceleration in India's energy purchases from Russia.