Russia willing to supply uninterrupted fuel to India, says Putin

Russian President Vladimir Putin underlined Moscow’s desire to ensure “uninterrupted fuel deliveries” to India at a time when the United States is pressuring New Delhi to stop importing oil.

Putin made this offer in a joint speech with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday; It was part of Russia’s first visit to the country since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, which triggered widespread sanctions.

Sanctions forced Russia to look for new customers for its exports. With the report of the Finland-based Energy and Clean Air Research Center ranking India, India became Russia’s second largest crude oil buyer after China. purchased 38% of Russia’s crude exports were realized in October.

In October, President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, two of Russia’s largest oil companies. This followed a 25% tariff on imports of Russian oil to India in August. But India has to walk a tightrope as it has close ties with the US and is also dependent on Russia for access to fuel and military equipment.

Putin questioned US pressure on India in an interview with an Indian television channel on Thursday.

United States still buying In the interview, Putin stated that he bought nuclear fuel for his own nuclear power plants from Russia and added: “If the USA has the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn’t India have the same privilege?”

While Trump acknowledged that India has reduced its oil imports from Russia, experts told CNBC that this may be a temporary trend.

Besides crude oil, Russia’s Rosatom delivery of reactors And reportedly Fuel for India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu with a total capacity of 6000 MW.

The Russian president said India and Russia have an energy partnership, adding that Moscow is a reliable supplier of “oil, gas, coal and everything needed for the development of India’s energy.”

Last month, India announced a “historic agreement” with Washington under which Indian state-owned oil companies signed a one-year agreement to import about 2.2 million tonnes of liquefied petroleum gas from the United States annually.