The trend of crude oil supply to India will continue, and bilateral trade will set new records, said the Russian Ambassador to India, Denis Alipov, in an interview with the press. “India being a consumer, quite naturally, is looking for the cheapest offers and Russia, being deprived of its traditional markets in Europe, for example, is looking for new markets, so this meeting between best available options and best available offers is driving the trade and our relationship in the energy sector. It is natural that we think this trend will continue in a structured manner,” the Russian envoy said.
“No one knows what the situation will look like by the end of the year. We are looking to further expand our relationship in this area by promoting the ongoing dialogue and cooperation based on long-term arrangements and agreements,” he added.
According to an estimate, there has been a steep jump in Russian oil exports to India as it has increased ten times this year and Russian crude oil is now fulfilling almost ten percent of India’s imported oil consumption.
“The volumes (of trade have reached USD 11.5 billion already in half of the year. We will make and strike a new record in our trade by the year, as we did in the previous one when our trade stood at USD 13.6 billion,” the Ambassador said.
The Russian envoy said that India and Russia are looking to further expand the relationship in the energy sector as the situation in the future is unpredictable.
Europe and the United States had expressed concerns about Russia’s massive increase in exports to Asian behemoths India and China.
The envoy also spoke about the position taken by India on oil imports. He lauded the recent remarks made by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and slammed the West for practising double standards. “I believe that these are the same double standards, hypocrisy and geopolitics. Jaishankar was very clear to articulate the imperative to satisfy the needs of the Indian people. In essence, we can put it like that West continues to plausibly ignore India’s legitimate national interest just like it did so most of the time at the time of colonialism,” he said.
