India s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reaffirmed India s stance on buying Russian oil. During his visit to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, he stated that Europe should understand that India cannot have a view of Russia that is identical to the European one.
The share of Russian oil in India's overall imports rose to about two-fifths in the first half of fiscal 2023/24, consolidating Moscow's position as the top supplier as refiners curbed purchase from the Middle East, industry data showed.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), mainly from the Middle East and Africa, saw their share of India's oil market slide to 59% in the fiscal year to March 2023, from about 72% in 2021/22.
India's imports of Russian crude in March rose for the seventh straight month to end out the fiscal year as top supplier to India, displacing Iraq for the first time, the data showed.