India's oil imports from Russia fell due to unattractive pricing and not because of payment problems, Oil Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Wednesday.
In December, India increased its imports of Saudi oil while facing payment issues, leading to a decline in its purchases of Russian oil to an 11-month low. Data from vessel tracking agencies revealed that at least five cargoes of the sweet Sokol variant originally destined for Indian Oil Corp were redirected elsewhere.