3 days ago
Do we switch off our economy? Indian envoy's clapback on Russian oil question
Amid pressure from the West to cut off oil imports from Russia over its conflict with Ukraine, India's High Commissioner to the UK asserted that New Delhi cannot shut down its economy over geopolitical an interview with Times Radio, Vikram Doraiswami said India, the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer, imports 80% of its energy needs."We import over 80% of our (energy) needs. What would you want us to do? Switch off our economy?" he said while responding to a question on Western criticism of India's ties with Russia. advertisement
After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, it faced a host of sanctions from the West. To drive its economy, Russia started offering crude oil at cheaper rates - an opportunity lapped up by high-oil-consuming nations like India, much to the chagrin of the oil imports from Russia meet around 40-45% of India's energy requirements. Last month, India's crude oil imports from Russia climbed to their highest in nearly a year.- Ends
