How India plans to continue buying Russian oil despite sanctions

"Indian imports of Russian oil have soared since the start of the war in Ukraine. India plans to continue buying cheap crude oil from Russia, despite sanctions imposed on major Russian oil companies by the United States and Europe. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin for the Russia-India annual bilateral summit in New Delhi last week, during which Putin said: Russia is ready for uninterrupted shipments of fuel to India."

"In 2021, prior to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russian oil constituted around 2.5 percent of India's total oil imports, according to figures from the US Energy Information Administration published in February this year. After the war began, Europe and the US began placing sanctions on Russian companies to economically isolate Moscow. Overall, since the beginning of the war, the US and its allies have imposed more than 21,000 sanctions on Russia, targeting individuals, media organisations, the military, and sectors that include energy, aviation, shipbuilding and telecommunications. Crucially, however, in December 2022, the Group of Seven (G7), the European Union and Australia placed a cap on the price of Russian oil at $60 per barrel, ostensibly to reduce Russia's ability to fund its war in Ukraine. The cap was later reduced to around $48 by the EU and the United Kingdom. This made Russian oil more attractive to purchasers, particularly India and China. Russia has sold crude oil to India at steeply discounted rates"

India's imports of Russian oil have surged since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, and New Delhi plans to continue buying discounted Russian crude despite Western sanctions and diplomatic pressure. Russian President Vladimir Putin assured uninterrupted fuel shipments to India during a bilateral summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India is the second-largest consumer of Russian oil after China and faced US pressure, including higher trade tariffs cited over oil purchases. In 2021 Russian oil made up around 2.5 percent of India's imports. International sanctions exceeded 21,000 measures, while G7 and allies imposed a price cap on Russian oil that increased its attractiveness to buyers.

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