Russia says India has no problem paying for oil

The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that Russian oil supplies to India have remained at a high level.

Moscow:

Russia’s foreign ministry said Russia’s oil supplies to India have remained at a high level and there have been no payment problems, state news agency TASS reported.

Maria Zakharova, the official spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press conference on Wednesday that “Russia’s oil supply to India remains at a stable high level; it has been determined that there are no problems with the payment method for Russian oil exports.”).

She stressed that priority for payments “is national currency.”

“This makes it possible to conduct bank transactions without relying on the so-called ‘rules of the game’ imposed by Westerners,” TASS news agency quoted Zakharova as saying.

In February, Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar reiterated India’s stance on buying Russian oil despite sanctions imposed on Russia over its military conflict with Ukraine.

He said that India and Russia have always maintained “stable and friendly relations” and Moscow has never harmed New Delhi’s interests.

In an interview with the German economic daily Handelsblatt during his visit to Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference, Jaishankar said that Europe should understand that India cannot have the same view of Russia as Europe.

Asked about India’s purchase of Russian oil, Jaishankar said, “Everyone approaches relationships based on past experiences. If I look at India’s post-independence history, Russia has never harmed our interests.”

He said India and Europe had discussed their respective positions and had not highlighted their differences. He said that after the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, Europe shifted most of its energy purchases to the Middle East, which had previously been the main energy supplier to India and other countries.

“What should we do? In many cases, our Middle Eastern suppliers prioritize Europe because Europe pays higher prices. Either we don’t have the energy because everything goes to them. Or we end up paying more money.” Because you paid more. In a way, we stabilize the energy market this way,” he added.

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