India’s monthly purchase of Russian oil less than what Europe does in an afternoon: Jaishankar

At the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue at Washington’s State Department on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony J Blinken urged India not to buy additional Russian oil.

He said, “When it comes to oil purchases, sanctions, et cetera, I just note that there are carve-outs for energy purchases. Of course, we’re encouraging countries not to purchase additional energy supplies from Russia. Every country is differently situated, has different needs, requirements, but we’re looking to allies and partners not to increase their purchases of Russian energy.”

Jaishankar said that India’s total purchase of oil from Russia in a month is probably less than what Europe does in an afternoon.

He said, “I noticed you refer to oil purchases. If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe, which probably – we do buy some energy which is necessary for our energy security, but I suspect looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon.”