India buys oil from Russia because of discounts - expert
Photo: India buys oil from Russia because of discounts (Getty Images)
India buys oil from Moscow because of discounts. The country will refuse Russian oil if other suppliers offer lower prices, says Swasti Rao, Associate Fellow at the Europe and Eurasia Center, Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
“And as far as oil is concerned, tomorrow if we start getting it from a cheaper place, we will switch there,” she said.
Rao reminded that India had never bought Russian oil before the war in Ukraine. It used to get it from the Persian Gulf countries.
“When the war started and when there were sanctions put on Russia, Russia wanted to reach out to other economies, and it gave us a lot of discounts. Because of the war, since the prices became so discounted, India started to buy a lot of oil from Russia. It is only because of the geopolitical situation,” the expert said.
Discounts and the fact that India is very dependent on hydrocarbons, especially oil, added to Indians buying from Russia because they wanted to get as much as possible for a cheap price.
“So, we are buying oil because of discounts and because India's purchase of Russian oil allowed for the crude oil prices to remain stable also. Otherwise, they could have been very, very disturbed and turbulent. So in many ways, I think the oil rerouting has allowed for the G7 price cap and sanctions to work,” she added.
India has been very transparent with its Western partners on this issue. “So they understand what is the reason that India is buying so much oil and under what conditions is India buying that oil,” she said.
After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, India sharply increased its trade with Russia, particularly, buying its oil, which is profitable for the Kremlin's military machine.
According to the Razumkov Center survey, in January 2024, India moved into the category of hostile countries for Ukrainians, accompanied by China, the DPRK, and Iran.
