India overtook China as the world’s biggest importer of Russian oil in July. Image for representation purposes only. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India overtook China as the world’s biggest importer of Russian oil in July as Chinese refiners bought less because of lower profit margins from producing fuels, a comparison of import data showed.

Russian crude made up a record 44% of India’s overall imports last month, rising to a record 2.07 million barrels per day (bpd), 4.2% higher than in June and 12% more than a year ago, data on Indian shipments from trade and industry sources showed.

That surpassed China’s July oil imports from Russia of 1.76 million bpd via pipelines and shipments, based on Chinese customs data.

Indian refiners have been gorging on Russian oil sold at discounts after Western nations imposed sanctions against Moscow and curtailed their energy purchases in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“India’s requirement for Russian oil is going to go up as long as there are no further tightening of sanctions,” an Indian refining source said.

India’s trade with Russia has increased since Russia began its war against Ukraine in February 2022 mainly because of oil and fertiliser imports, a move helping to keep a lid on global prices and controlling inflation.

India’s rising purchases are changing the flow of Russian ESPO Blend crude from traditional Chinese buyers to South Asia. ESPO imports to India jumped in July to 188,000 bpd as larger Suezmax vessels were used, according to the data.

Refiners in northeast China are typically the biggest ESPO buyers because of their close proximity, but their demand has fallen because of tepid fuel demand.

Iraq continued to be the second-largest oil supplier to India last month, followed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

India’s crude purchases from the Middle East rose 4% in July, pushing up the region’s share in India’s overall mix to 40% from 38% in June, the data showed.

File picture of Russia’s President Vladimir Putin with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the Kremlin in Moscow
| Photo Credit: via Reuters

Observing that India has a longstanding relationship with Russia, the U.S. has said that it has encouraged New Delhi to “utilise” that relationship with Moscow and urge President Vladimir Putin to end the “illegal war” against Ukraine.

These remarks were made by State Department Spokesperson Mathew Miller at his daily news conference on Monday.

“India has a longstanding relationship with Russia. I think that’s well-known. And we have encouraged India to utilise that relationship with Russia, that longstanding relationship and the unique position that they have, to urge President Putin to end his illegal war and to find a just peace, a lasting peace to this conflict; to tell Putin to respect the UN Charter, to respect Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty,” he said.

“That’s what we’ll continue to impress upon the Government of India, which is an important partner of ours when it comes to their relationship with Russia,” Mr. Miller said in response to a question.

Mr. Miller made similar remarks on July 9 soon after Prime Minister Narendra Modi left Russia.

Mr. Modi was in Russia for two days from July 8-9 for the 22nd India-Russia annual summit that has been watched closely by the West amidst the raging Ukraine conflict.

This was the Prime Minister’s first visit to Russia since the war started between Moscow and Kyiv in 2022.

During his talks with Mr. Putin on July 9, Prime Minister Modi told President Putin that a solution to the Ukraine conflict is not possible on the battlefield and peace efforts do not succeed amid bombs and bullets.

India has been stoutly defending its “special and privileged strategic partnership” with Russia and maintained the momentum in the ties notwithstanding the Ukraine conflict.

India has not yet condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has consistently pitched for a resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

New Delhi:

India on Wednesday dismissed as “factually incorrect” reports about differences with Russia on the issue of Ukraine that led to the scrapping of a larger delegation-level meeting during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to Moscow.

“To the best of my knowledge, there are no cancellations of any particular programming element during the Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow,” Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said at a media briefing in Delhi.

He was responding to a question about some friction in Moscow that led to the scrapping of one session.

“I find it surprising but there are no facts to this factually incorrect, quite misleading (report). The Prime Minister’s visit to Moscow was extremely successful,” he said.

The discussions between Prime Minister Modi and President Putin far exceeded the time that was allocated by the two sides. “And there was no cancellation of any kind of programme,” he added.

Earlier, Russia’s state-run TASS news agency quoted Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying that Prime Minister Modi and President Putin decided to keep things intimate at their Tuesday meeting in Moscow, covering all topics productively without the need for a larger breakout session.

When asked why the talks between the two leaders were not followed by a meeting with larger delegations, Peskov explained this was not because of some problems but rather that the conversation between Putin and Modi that lasted more than three hours (and) was attended by officials in charge of “almost all major spheres of [bilateral] cooperation.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Moscow:

Russia is expecting a “very important and full-fledged visit” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Moscow, which is crucial for Russian-Indian relations, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.

Prime Minister Modi will be in Moscow from July 8 to 9 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold the 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit.

The two leaders will review the entire range of multifaceted relations between the two countries and exchange views on contemporary regional and global issues of mutual interest, the Ministry of External Affairs said in New Delhi on Thursday while announcing the high-level visit.

The programme of Prime Minister Modi in Moscow will be extensive and the two leaders will be able to have informal talks, Mr Peskov said in an interview with Russia’s state-run VGTRK television channel.

“Obviously, the agenda will be extensive, if not to say overbusy. It will be an official visit, and we hope that the heads will be able to talk in an informal way as well,” he said.

Mr Peskov said that Russian-Indian relations are at the level of strategic partnership. He said that there would be both one-on-one talks in the Kremlin and those involving delegations.

“We are expecting a very important and full-fledged visit, which is so crucial for Russian-Indian relations,” he was quoted as saying by the official Tass news agency.

It will be PM Modi’s first visit to Russia in nearly five years. His last visit to Russia was in 2019 when he attended an economic conclave in the Far East city of Vladivostok.

The annual summit between the prime minister of India and the president of Russia is the highest institutional dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between the two countries.

So far, 21 annual summits have taken place alternately in India and Russia.

The last annual summit was held on December 6, 2021 in New Delhi. President Putin had visited India to attend the summit.

Astana:

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said he clearly and strongly raised the issue of Indians stranded in the Russia-Ukraine conflict zone with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov during a bilateral in Kazakhstan’s Asthana.

On whether he raised the stranded Indians issue with Lavrov, Mr Jaishankar told ANI, “Very clearly and strongly… several Indians have been pressed into service with the Russian Army. Only when they come back will we know the full circumstances. But whatever the circumstances are, to us it is unacceptable that Indian citizens find themselves in the army of another country in a warzone. I told him that we seek their cooperation and that they are our friend and partners. We have to find a way so that these people can return to India as quickly and effectively as possible.”

S Jaishankar added that Mr Lavrov appreciated the point and the Indian Foreign Ministry has been speaking to the Russian Defence Ministry in this regard.

“I urged him that we need a much stronger follow-up. I have taken it up and I intend to continue taking it up until all our people there come back,” he said.

Mr Jaishankar also shared his view on the upcoming visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia and called it a great opportunity for both leaders to sit down and directly talk to each other on the growing economic relationship between the two countries.

“There was a bit of a delay in our annual summits, it is a good tradition, we are two countries which have a strong history of working together. We did value the need for an annual summit. Last year when I went to Moscow, I carried a message from the PM that we are committed to the annual summit and we will do it sooner…it is a regular recurrence. It is a way of taking stock of any relationship…one of the biggest changes has been that our economic relationship with Russia has grown tremendously…at the leadership of level, it will be a great opportunity for PM Modi and (Russian) President Putin to sit down and directly talk to each other,” Mr Jaishankar said.

Around 20 persons were allegedly duped into fighting for the Russian Army in the war against Ukraine on the pretext of lucrative jobs. At least two Indians have died.

The MEA confirmed in April that among the Indian nationals who were working as support staff in the Russian Army, 10 have returned to India.

Earlier this year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), busted a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting Indian nationals on the promise of offering lucrative jobs abroad but allegedly sending them to the Russia-Ukraine war zone.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

File picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin
| Photo Credit: V.V. Krishnan

The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the final details of a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Russia were being worked out, and that deepening trade and economic cooperation would be one of the key themes of the visit.

The Kremlin has yet to announce the dates of the visit by Mr. Modi, though a Russian state news agency reported last month that the visit would take place in July.

“I can only confirm once again that the visit is in the final stage of preparation,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “A very important visit.”

ALSO READ: When Modi goes to Moscow | The View from India

Mr. Peskov said that regional security and global security issues were always high on the agenda of such meetings.

“In addition, our trade and economic cooperation is also one of the main issues that is being discussed, the most diverse areas of cooperation that we intend to develop, for which there is mutual political will,” Mr. Peskov said.

“This is the main thing.”

Mr. Peskov said that Mr. Modi and Mr. Putin had a “very trusting” relationship.

At talks on widening maritime cooperation, India and Russia on Wednesday also discussed the possibility of exploring new transport corridors like the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the Eastern Maritime Corridor (EMC) between Vladivostok and Chennai and both sides also agreed that Indian seafarers will be trained on Polar and Arctic waters at the Russian Maritime Training Institute in Vladivostok, which is equipped with simulators.

The Indian side was led by Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal and Russia by the Minister for the Development of the Far East and the Arctic A.O. Chekunkov. The meet was held on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum underway in the far-Eastern city of Vladivostok. He also visited the historic Vladivostok port.

Also Read | Watch | What is the Northern Sea Route and how important is it for India?

“India Russia Joint Maritime Commission to facilitate constructive discussion on various issues regarding development of the NSR,” Mr. Sonowal said in a statement issued by the Ministry. He said that India is keen to collaborate on a partnership regarding the development of the NSR recognising the potential it holds for enhanced connectivity and trade.

Strategic cooperation

“We remain committed to maintaining strong ties and fostering strategic cooperation across various sectors,” Mr. Sonowal said speaking at a meeting held at the Pavilion of Kamchatka Territory “Far East Street”. He said the Indian team visited the ports of Vladivostok, Vostochny, Nakhodka and Kozmino in May, 2023, which helped gain “insights” and the collaborations forged during visits to these ports contributed to “understanding of requirements” for the “full-scale operationalisation” of the EMC.

Also Read | Explained | India and the Northern Sea Route  

“Our proposed workshop in Chennai will discuss the operationalisation of the EMC, and we envision involving pertinent stakeholders who trade and transport commodities such as coking coal, oil, and liquefied natural gas along this corridor,” he stated. The Minister also announced that an invitation has been extended to Russia to participate in the upcoming Global Maritime India Summit 2023.

Mr. Chekunkov said, “Cooperation with the Republic of India is one of the priorities of the international activities of our Ministry; we intend to develop relations with Indian partners in the Far East in all areas of mutual interest.”

He said the potential cargo base for the alternate routes will be coking coal, oil, LNG and fertilizers which are present in sufficient quantities in the Far East. Taking into account the specialization of the Far Eastern ports, the project should be implemented with an expanded geographical scope, including other regions in addition to Primorye, primarily the Khabarovsk Territory, Mr. Chekunkov added.

New Delhi:

Russia desires improvement of relations between India and China and its ties with both the countries are “very wholesome”, Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov said on Friday. In an interaction with journalists, he also said the Rupee-Rouble payment mechanism between India and Russia was not working due to the “overcautious approach” of the Indian financial community.

The mechanism for trade between the two countries was established to settle dues in rupees instead of US Dollars or Euros in view of imposition of severe economic sanctions against Moscow by the West following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

To a question on Beijing’s release of a so-called “standard map” laying territorial claim over Arunachal Pradesh, Aksai Chin as well as Taiwan and South China Sea, Denis Alipov attempted to play it down.

“For your information, there are some discrepancies on the Russia-China border as well. We do not exaggerate this issue with the Chinese side. And as we have noticed, India does not exaggerate this issue as well,” he said.

Asked what will be Moscow’s position in case of any hostility between India and China, the envoy said Russia will “never sacrifice” its ties with New Delhi under any circumstances.

On the boundary row between India and China, Denis Alipov said Russia was very much hopeful of improvement of relations between the two countries.

Describing it as a bilateral issue, he said Russia has been respectful of the positions of India as well as China.

To a question, he said Russia does not have defence relations with Pakistan.

Referring to the Rupee-Rouble mechanism, Denis Alipov said it is not working as the Indian financial community and banks are reluctant to use it fearing secondary sanctions.

“The US has no leverage to disrupt such bilateral trade transactions. Still the banks are reluctant to do that,” he said.

The envoy said the over “cautiousness” on the part of the Indian financial community is the main reason behind the mechanism not working.

“In future, it will be a successful model,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)