Underlining that India’s “legitimate energy transactions should not be politicised”, Delhi hit out Friday at the West, saying countries with “oil self-sufficiency or those importing themselves from Russia cannot credibly advocate restrictive trading”.
India’s sharp reaction comes at a time when Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), the country’s top oil firm, has bought 3 million barrels of crude oil that Russia had offered at a steep discount on prevailing international rates. The purchase, made through a trader, is the first since Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine that led to international pressure to isolate the Putin administration.