Absolutely no moral conflict in buying oil from Russia: Hardeep Puri

Union minister of petroleum and natural gas Hardeep Singh Puri has said there is “absolutely” no moral conflict in India’s purchase of oil from Russia.

“We owe a moral duty to our consumers,” Puri said in an interview with CNN at Abu Dhabi.

When asked pointedly if there was moral conflict in buying from Russia in light of war in Ukraine, he said, “Absolutely none; absolutely none. There is no moral conflict. We don’t buy from X or Y; we buy whatever is available… I don’t do the buying. The government does not do it. Oil companies do.”

Also read: India’s Russian oil imports jump 50 times; now accounts for 10% of all import: official

No pressure, says Puri

“We don’t feel any pressure. (Narendra) Modi’s government doesn’t feel the pressure. We are the fifth largest economy in the world,” he said during the interview adding, “India will respond according to its supreme national interest.”

In the United Nations, India has not openly taken sides on the Russia-Ukraine conflict. But, Modi in a recent meeting told Russian President Vladimir Putin that “Today’s era is not of war”.

India and China now account for over half of all oil exports from Russia, which is offering discounts as some western countries have stopped buying oil from it.

Increasing oil imports from Russia

In September, Russia’s share in India’s oil imports surged to an all-time high of 23 per cent and since April, there’s been a 50-fold surge, reported news agency Reuters. The share of Middle East oil declined a little, to about 56 per cent.

Before the war began, Russian oil made up for just 0.2 per cent of oil imported by India. “We buy in a quarter what Europe buys in an afternoon,” Puri said, admitting that now Russia is “one of the top four or five suppliers to India.”

Prices will go up if no one buys Russian oil, Puri said, adding “If prices increase, there will be inflation and recession.”

Also read: India’s monthly Russia oil import less than what Europe buys in an afternoon: Jaishankar

He refused to answer what he termed hypothetical questions about plans of the G-7 to impose further sanctions on Russia. The G7 group of nations — UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan — has been speaking of capping the price of oil from Russia to limit its revenue. India will “examine” if there is any proposal, Puri said.