Kremlin Anticipates 'Short-Lived' Dip in Indian Oil Imports Amid Sanctions

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated on Tuesday that India's imports of Russian oil might only experience a "very short-lived" decline, as Moscow plans to employ "advanced technologies" to circumvent the impact of Western sanctions, thereby increasing supplies.

These remarks precede a scheduled two-day visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin to New Delhi starting Thursday, aimed at restoring defense and energy ties. The visit comes as the South Asian nation has cut its Russian oil purchases to at least a three-year low this month.

As the top buyer of Russian seaborne oil, India has reduced its crude imports from Moscow under pressure from Western sanctions, particularly those imposed by Washington on Russia’s top oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil.

Answering a question about the impact of sanctions, Peskov told Indian reporters, “There might be a minuscule reduction in the volume of oil trade for a very short period.”

Russia is the largest oil supplier to India, which is the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer. Peskov, speaking during a video conference organized by Russia’s Sputnik news agency, said Moscow is working to create “the necessary environment” for prospective buyers of its oil.

“We have profound experience in operating under this system of illegitimate sanctions,” Peskov added. “We have our own technologies in doing that. If this sanctions practice continues, we will continue to make these technologies more sophisticated and advanced.”

He indicated that trade between Russia and India should be immune from pressure from third-party countries, adding that payment methods would be among the topics discussed by the two countries' leaders.

Indian refiners such as Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, and HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd have stopped purchasing Russian oil.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp has ordered Russian oil from non-sanctioned entities, while Bharat Petroleum Corp is in advanced stages of talks to import Russian oil.

Russian-backed Indian refiner Nayara Energy (Rosneft holds a partial stake) is currently processing exclusively Russian oil, after other suppliers withdrew supplies due to UK and EU sanctions.

Russia hopes India will continue to provide support to Nayara to boost its local sales and capacity utilization.

Reliance Industries, formerly Russia's largest client in India, said it had loaded “pre-committed” Russian oil cargoes as of Oct. 22 and will process shipments arriving after Nov. 20 at its refinery complex that caters to domestic supplies.


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