INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
India in talks to buy discounted Russian oilIndia is exploring options for buying Russian crude oil, authorities said Tuesday, with prices
plunging to record lows in the wake of a global backlash to the Ukraine conflict.New Delhi enjoys historic diplomatic and defence ties with
Moscow, hosting a rare overseas trip by President Vladimir Putin late last year, and has called for an end to the violence in Ukraine but
stopped short of condemning the invasion.Its government is looking to cut a spiralling energy bill after oil prices surged in the wake of
said the government was having conversations "at the appropriate level of the Russian Federation" regarding the purchase."Discussions are
There are several issues to be gone into like how much oil is available," he told parliament.Mr Puri added that the government was weighing
issues related to insurance, freight and payment for the crude.Many countries, including European nations, remain heavily dependent on fuel
Delhi is also trying to set up a rupee-rouble trade mechanism for paying for oil and other goods.Crude oil prices slipped to around $100 per
diplomatic dilemma after years of close ties with Russia during the Cold War, with Moscow still its biggest arms supplier.Late last year, it
began taking delivery from Russia of the S-400 missile defence system that it agreed to buy for over $5 billion in 2018, despite the threat
of US sanctions.At the same time, it needs Western support to contend with its increasingly assertive neighbour, China, in the wake of
increasingly fractious territorial disputes that escalated into a deadly border clash in 2020.(This story has not been edited by
TheIndianSubcontinent staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
