India and its energy relationship with Moscow were undermined by an alleged claim of discount on Russian crude interpreted as an attempt to harass its decision.
The US and its allies are trying to make India change its mind, but Delhi prefers Russia to an allegedly duplicitous western alliance with a plan.
Rebuking the West
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's foreign minister, gave a sharp remark about the hypocritical attitude taken by the EU when it buys more oil than anyone else from Russia one after afternoon, reports Sputnik News.
The reaction of the Indian government that strongly criticized a news report that was allegedly aimed at harming New Delhi's energy link with Moscow is with ill intent.
It was an article that intends to make an already destabilized global oil market; in particular, to weaken Russian oil imports that have not stopped by any means, noted Arab News.
Indian authorities remarked that the article is a ploy to serve their vested interests and spectators, which will set back the global economic recovery due to its negative impact.
Although New Delhi has not named the publisher, the apparent reference appears to be to Bloomberg, based in the United States.
Earlier in the day, the paper stated that India and its state-run oil corporations are looking for a discount on Russian crude of $70 per barrel. Anonymous sources are cited in the disputed report.
Russian Oil Supply
Brent Crude is currently trading at more than $106 per barrel and is expected to rise further as a result of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's decision to prohibit Russian oil imports into the 27-nation bloc as part of the sixth phase of sanctions imposed on Moscow as a result of its "special military operation" in Ukraine.
According to the Bloomberg story, India has proposed boosting its total oil imports from Russia to 15 million barrels per month (500,000 barrels per day) if Moscow says yes to pricing its crude under $70 per barrel.
The petroleum ministry has underlined that oil imports from Russia account for only a small proportion of overall imports but that the majority of New Delhi's crude imports originate from west Asian countries.
Furthermore, the United States has emerged as a major crude oil supplier to India, accounting for nearly $13 billion in energy imports and contributing to nearly 7.3 percent of the crude oil import market share.
As the world's third-largest oil user, imports nearly 85 percent of its crude imports from other countries. This statement reminds the world of India's "immense" energy demands, that total roughly 5 million barrels per day.
The ministry stressed that if India, as a large importer of crude oil, abruptly withdraws from its diverse sources, focusing on the remaining in an already limited market, it will cause further volatility and instability, increasing worldwide prices.
The official statement also advised everyone to abstain from "trying to politicize" India's legitimate energy transactions, emphasizing that outbound Russian energy exports were yet to be sanctioned by the US, EU, and other western partners.
New Delhi is concerned about how much crude costs now, which can be attributed to the US-led sanctions, causing more harm. India called the report on an alleged discount on Russian crude meant for ill means, citing Bloomberg for publishing it that is a US outlet.
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