OUR India will continue to buy Russian oil because it is in the interests of the country, the Indian Foreign Minister said after a meeting he had today with Its Russian counterpartfor the fifth time this year, adding that the two countries are expanding their trade ties.

Subramanyam Jaishankar is visiting Moscow for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. His visit coincided with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s visit to New Delhi this week for talks with Indian officials, possibly to discuss capping the price of Russian oil.

India has become the biggest buyer of Russian oil after China as its refiners rush to gobble up discounted goods that Western buyers shun. Russia’s share of India’s oil imports jumped to a record 23 percent in September, compared with about 2 percent before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Jaishankar is accompanied by senior officials in charge of agriculture, oil and gas, ports and shipping, finance, chemicals and fertilizers, and trade, which he says shows the importance of ties with Russia. Both sides are seeking to expand trade in rupees and rubles, given Russia’s problems with the dollar.

“Russia is a stable and time-tested partner. Any objective assessment of our longstanding relationship will confirm that they serve both our countries very well,” Jaishankar said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Jaishankar: relations with Russia “for our benefit”

Asked about the G7’s plan to cap Russian oil prices, Jaishankar said that India, as the world’s third-largest oil and gas consumer where income levels are not as high, should consider its own interests.

“And in that sense, frankly, we have seen that the relationship between India and Russia is working in our favor,” Jaishankar said, adding that “so if it works in my favor, I would like it to continue.”

Reuters reported on Monday that India’s Oil and Natural Gas Corp asked the new Russian operator of the Sakhalin-1 project after leaving ExxonMobil to retain its stake in Russia’s Far East oil and gas project.

India did not condemn Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but called for peace and dialogue, with Jainshakar reiterating that India “will support any initiative that reduces risks to the global economy and stabilizes the world order.”

For decades, Russia has been the largest supplier of military equipment to India and the fourth largest market for Indian pharmaceuticals. Jaishankar also said that India should promote its exports to Russia in order to balance the bilateral trade relationship that is currently being closed towards Russia.

^{Source: APE-MEB, Reuters}