India reiterated its energy security stance on Tuesday amid continued concern about 100% secondary sanctions for purchase of Russian oil. The remarks came mere hours after US Senator Lindsey Graham warned that the Donald Trump-led administration would soon impose punitive tariffs on BRICS nations continuing to import oil from Russia.
“We have been very clear that insofar as energy security is concerned, it is the highest priority of the government of India to provide energy security for the people of India, and we will do what we need to do with regard to that,” Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said during a briefing.
He also stressed the need to avoid “double standards” and have a clear perception of the global market situation.
“We do understand that there is an important and serious security issue that is confronting Europe, but the rest of the world is also there. It is also dealing with issues that are existential for the rest of the world, and I think it’s important to keep balance and perspective when talking about these issues,” he added.
India’s oil imports from Russia rose marginally in the first half of this year, with private refiners Reliance Industries Ltd and Nayara Energy making about half of the overall purchases from Moscow. Moscow continues to be the top supplier to India — accounting for about 35% of its overall supplies — followed by Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates.
‘Make the call to Putin’
The Ministry of External Affairs has repeatedly “cautioned against any double standards” after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte vowed “100% secondary sanctions” last week. US President Donald Trump had broached the possibility of tariffs against Russia earlier this month — issuing a fresh ultimatum as he sought an end to the Ukraine war within 50 days. The POTUS said he would impose 100% tariffs against Moscow as well as secondary sanctions for countries that purchased oil from Russia if a deal was not struck by September.
“My encouragement to these three countries…if you live now Delhi…you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard. So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way,” Rutte had added.
Hardeep Singh Puri: ‘Not worried at all’
The assertion came days after Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri insisted that New Delhi would “buy from wherever we have to” without explicitly naming Russia. The Ministry of External Affairs had also reiterated last week that securing energy needs was an “overriding priority” for the country — guided by available offers and the “prevailing global circumstances”.
“I’m not worried at all. If something happens, we’ll deal with it. India has diversified the sources of supply and we have gone, I think, from about 27 countries that we used to buy from to about 40 countries now,” Reuters quoted Puri as saying during an event last week.
Puri also assured that India could meet its energy requirements through ‘alternative sources’ if Russian supplies were hit by secondary sanctions. He noted there are many new suppliers coming onto the market such as Guyana and supply from existing producers such as Brazil and Canada. India has also been increasing exploration and production activities.