White House backs Indian purchases of Russian oil

The US has no objection to India’s purchases of oil from Russia but it hopes that the South Asian nation will continue to benefit from the price ceiling set for it by Western allies, according to National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.

“India has to make its own choices about oil purchases,” Kirby said during a White House Press briefing last week. “And we hope that we can continue to see that they purchase Russian oil at or below the price cap, as they have been.”

The US and its allies have taken several steps in an attempt to reduce Moscow’s oil revenues as part of Ukraine-related sanctions.

In December, the EU and G7 nations introduced a collective ban on any Russian seaborne oil exports bought for more than their price cap of $60 per barrel. Another embargo, banning almost all imports of Russian oil products and introducing price caps on diesel and other petroleum products, kicked in on February 5.

In response, Moscow redirected most of its oil flows to Asia, particularly to India and China, having negotiated payment settlements in currencies other than the US dollar as sanctions effectively cut Russia off from the Western financial system.

India has resisted pressure from the US and Europe to fall in line with Western sanctions on Moscow. It has also refrained from condemning the Russian military operation in Ukraine at the United Nations.

The world’s third-biggest oil consumer, India started boosting purchases of Russian crude after the Western embargo and price caps were introduced. Its imports of Russian seaborne crude oil have reportedly risen tenfold in the financial year ending March 31.

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