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India's position on Russian oil may be unprincipled, but it is fully justified.

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India will continue to import Russian oil in opposition to the Western embargo. According to NHK, although Delhi’s diplomatic position may seem unprincipled, it is quite justified. Along with purely pragmatic considerations, India is inclined to this by traditional friendly ties with Russia and distrust of the West.

In contrast to the Western embargo, India will continue to import Russian oil. At the same time, according to NHK, a number of new and interesting points have appeared in the Indian position, supporting Delhi’s plans and emphasizing its independent line towards Western policy. Apparently, this is not least determined by the increased international role of India as the G20 chair country, which it will become in 2023.

As the author of the material notes, the attention of experts and observers was attracted by India’s increasingly exploited explanation of large-scale purchases of Russian oil by concern for the interests of developing and poor countries of the world. Delhi claims that the lack of access of Russian oil to world markets will sharply increase its prices, which will primarily hit the countries of the Global South. Thus, by acquiring Russian oil profitably, India positions itself as a “defender of poor countries.”

Secondly, India remembered that it had been a friendly country to Russia since the Cold War and received Russian-made weapons, while the West and, above all, the United States in every possible way ignored the supply of their weapons to Delhi, secretly supplying Pakistan with them.

In Delhi, it is said that historically India still feels a certain distrust of Europe and the United States, partly because of the long history of British colonial rule. These sentiments are widespread in Indian society, and it is quite difficult to get rid of them.

Another thesis used by Delhi is that the West cannot blame India for importing Russian oil, while it still imports crude oil and natural gas from Russia. At the same time, the Indians refer to a number of exceptions in the Western package of sanctions against the Kremlin and point out that Russian oil is still supplied even to the United States.
In the West, the question is being asked: will anti-Russian sanctions become less effective because of India’s special position? And they themselves answer in the affirmative. Indeed, there are such concerns, but some experts in the G7 come to a paradoxical conclusion: the large-scale import of Russian oil by India contributes to less volatility in the global oil market. After all, if Russian oil stopped coming to it at all, then the same India would “get in line” for it in other markets, thereby pushing world prices up.

At the same time, the Western embargo plays into India’s hands, allowing it to achieve significant discounts on oil received from Russia.

As the author of the material concludes, many Western and Japanese experts recognize that, although India’s diplomatic position may seem unprincipled, it is quite justified. Delhi demonstrates that it does not side with either the West or Russia, is self-sufficient and seeks practical benefits from both sides.

 

“Europe, the USA and Japan, it seems, need to recognize this position and understand that taking into account the approaches of such giant countries of the world as India, China, Brazil, South Africa and others, the full implementation of the G7 oil embargo against Russia will be very difficult for the West,” the author of the article states.

A source https://russian.rt.com/inotv/2022-12-19/NHK-poziciya-Indii-po-rossijskoj

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