Russia has asked India to increase its investments in the oil and gas sector, as well as to develop Russian companies’ sales networks in the Asia’s third-largest economy. Russia’s economy is in its worst state since the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, as the West implements harsh sanctions in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
After New Delhi abstained from voting against Moscow, a long-time arms supplier, at the United Nations, some western friends have urged India to denounce Russia’s activities in Ukraine. “Russian oil and petroleum product exports to India have surpassed $1 billion, and there are clear potential to expand this amount,” Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said. Novak told Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, “We are interested in drawing more Indian investment into the Russian oil and gas sector and extending Russian enterprises’ sales networks in India.” The United States banned Russian oil imports this week, and the United Kingdom said it would phase them out by the end of the year, measures that are expected to severely destabilise the global energy market, where Russia is the second-largest crude supplier.
