India invites Putin to December summit amid US tariff pressure
Photo: Russian President Vladimir Putin (Getty Images)
Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India in December. Despite Russia’s war against Ukraine and pressure from the United States, the two countries continue to strengthen ties, Bloomberg informs.
The Kremlin leader is scheduled to visit New Delhi on December 5, where he will participate in the plenary session of the Russia-India forum.
In October, Putin held a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. During that meeting, they confirmed their readiness to further deepen the "special and privileged strategic partnership" between the two countries.
India’s purchase of Russian oil
Earlier, India refused to comply with US President Donald Trump’s demands to stop buying Russian oil after a 50% tariff was imposed on Indian exports. The measure was intended to pressure India into reducing its oil purchases from Russia.
Recently, Trump stated that he plans to lower import tariffs on India “at some point” due to the country’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
On Tuesday, November 11, it was reported that most of India’s refineries have stopped buying Russian oil. This decision came in the context of anti-Russian sanctions and trade negotiations between the US and India.
India is the world’s second-largest importer of Russian oil after China. Historically, the country rarely purchased oil from Russia, preferring supplies from Middle Eastern countries.
However, after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the G7-imposed $60-per-barrel price cap, the situation changed.
India did not import oil from sanctioned countries like Iran and Venezuela. In contrast, Russian oil remained allowed and inexpensive, which led to a sharp increase in imports.
