'Never Depended On Permission From Any Country': India On US Waiver To Buy Russian Oil

(MENAFN- Live Mint) India has responded to the United States granting a temporary sanctions waiver to the country to purchase oil from Russia. India said it will continue to buy oil from wherever it is available and it does not depend on permission from any country to do so.

“India will buy oil from wherever it is available. Our oil purchases will not be governed by any hollow slogans. India has never depended on permission from any country to buy Russian oil,” a senior government official told PTI.

US grants India 30-day sanctions waiver

On Thursday the US temporarily eased economic sanctions against Russia to allow Russian oil stranded at sea to be sold to India. The US decision came in the wake of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East due to which global oil prices have surged.

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Crude soared 8.5 percent on Friday and was up nearly 30 percent for the week after President Donald Trump said only the “unconditional surrender” of Iran would end the Middle East war.

Indian purchase of Russian oil

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the subsequent sanctions, India became the largest buyer of crude from Moscow, peaking at nearly 40% of the country’s total oil needs.

** Also Read** | ‘Indians very good actors’: US explains Russian oil ‘waiver’ to India India-US trade deal

In February, Trump claimed that India had committed to stop buying Russian oil as part of a trade deal and rolled back a 25 percent duty on exports from the country.

However, India has maintained that its energy sourcing is guided by “national interest” and “energy security”.

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