New Delhi, December 11
Russia has welcomed India’s decision not to support the price cap on its oil and has offered help on building large-capacity ships in order not to depend on the ban on insurance services and tanker chartering in the European Union and Britain.
In a meeting with Ambassador of India Pavan Kapoor in Moscow, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak noted that in the first eight months of 2022, Russian oil exports to India grew to 16.35 million tonnes; in the summer, Russia ranked second in terms of oil shipments to India. Deliveries of oil products and coal also increased.
“The introduction of a price cap on Russian oil is an anti-market measure. It disrupts supply chains and could significantly complicate the situation in global energy markets. Such non-market mechanisms disrupt the international trading system as a whole and set a dangerous precedent in the energy market. As a result, the problem of energy poverty is being aggravated not only in the developing world, but also in the developed countries of Europe,” said Novak.
In order not to depend on the ban on insurance services and tanker chartering in the EU and Britain, he offered cooperation on leasing and building large-capacity ships, said a Russian readout of the meeting.
The two sides also noted the record growth in trade between the two countries and resolved to increase cooperation on trade in energy resources, such as oil, petroleum products, liquefied natural gas, coal and fertiliser, it added.
In 2021, bilateral trade between Russia and India increased by 46.5 per cent, exceeding $ 13.5 billion. In January-September this year, trade totalled $ 20.4 billion.
Novak pointed out that amid the energy crisis, Russia is “responsibly’’ fulfilling its contractual obligations for the supply of energy resources, diversifying energy exports to the countries in the east and south.
