Russian President Vladimir Putin is in India. His visit is taking place at a time when US President Donald Trump has increased the tariff on India by 50% regarding Russian oil. Trump claims that India is helping Russia fight the war in Ukraine by buying cheap oil. India has made it clear that it does business keeping its interests in mind.
However, Trump later claimed that India had reduced oil purchases from Russia due to tariffs. There is a possibility of talks on this issue between India and Russia during Putin’s visit.
Russian Presidential Office Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov had said before Putin’s departure for India that ‘due to Western sanctions, the purchase of crude oil from Russia may reduce for some time, but Russia is taking steps to increase the supply.’
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Is Ukraine war increasing because of India?
It has been more than three and a half years since the war between Russia and Ukraine started. Trump and many leaders of western countries also hold India responsible for this.
Now Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko has made a new claim. He has recently written a letter, claiming that India’s buying of oil at cheap prices is prolonging the war. He has appealed to Europe to impose sanctions on billionaire Mukesh Ambani, whose refinery processes large consignments of these Russian oil.
In October, Trump imposed sanctions on two big Russian oil companies – Rosneft and Lukoil. Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is considered the largest buyer of Russian oil.
Recently, Iulia Mandel, who was the press secretary of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, had said that India is buying Russian oil cheaply, which increases Russia’s war fighting capability.
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India needs oil
India is dependent on other countries for its oil needs. Before the start of Ukraine war, India used to buy most of its oil requirement from Gulf countries. But after the Ukraine war started, Russia became the biggest partner. Now one-third of India’s crude oil requirement comes from Russia.
After the start of Ukraine war, when western countries imposed sanctions on Russia, Russia offered cheap crude oil to India. Forbes report shows that at times Russia even sold oil at $35 per barrel.
Cheap Russian oil has acted as a safety valve for India. This increased supply, made Indian refineries profitable and protected them from the shocks that were shaking other economies.
India only benefited from cheap Russian oil. Indian Express report states that India saved $4.87 billion in 2022-23 due to cheap Russian oil. This savings further increases to $5.41 billion in 2023-24.
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But India is not alone
India is not alone in buying cheap oil from Russia. China still remains Russia’s biggest buyer. However, India is in trouble in the eyes of the world.
In fact, Trump and many Western leaders claim that India buys oil cheaply from Russia and then earns huge profits by selling it outside.
However, India says that if Russian crude oil is processed in Indian refineries, it is considered an Indian product and not Russian as per international trade law. The European Union also silently accepts this system, because the economies there are still dependent on these fuels.
Is cheap oil costing India dearly?
Is it costing India to buy Russian oil cheaply? The question arises because such claims are made that Russia’s war machine is being strengthened by buying Indian oil.
According to Forbes, Ukrainian MP Oleksiy Goncharenko has written a letter to Indian officials, in which he claimed that ‘buying cheap Indian oil gives Russia another day to fight.’
Yulia Mandel warns that the economic toll of war is severe and that every supply link that sustains Russia is vital. Janis Kluge, an economist at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs, told the Washington Post that if India or China were to significantly reduce oil purchases, Russia’s budget would have a major impact.
Not only this, due to Russian oil, India’s tensions with other countries are also increasing. America is the biggest among them. Donald Trump was once considered a supporter of India but for the past few months his attitude towards Russian oil has been aggressive. Of the 50% tariff they have imposed on Indian imports, 25% has been imposed as a penalty because India buys Russian oil.
Now, as the war is prolonging, Ukraine is also appealing to Europe to take some concrete steps regarding India.
However, the flip side is that if India stops buying Russian oil, global fuel prices may skyrocket. India has also made this clear many times. The fear of rising oil prices prevents western countries from putting more pressure on India.
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