{"id":254055,"date":"2022-11-01T11:29:00","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T11:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/?p=254055"},"modified":"2022-11-01T11:29:00","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T11:29:00","slug":"modi-government-feels-no-pressure-oil-minister-sees-no-moral-conflict-in-buying-russian-oil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/haftavasool.com\/haftavasool\/blog\/2022\/11\/01\/modi-government-feels-no-pressure-oil-minister-sees-no-moral-conflict-in-buying-russian-oil\/","title":{"rendered":"“Modi Government Feels No Pressure”: Oil Minister Sees No “Moral Conflict” In Buying Russian Oil"},"content":{"rendered":"

[ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\"'Modi<\/div>\n

Hardeep Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, spoke to CNN on India’s oil import policy. (File)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

New Delhi: <\/b><\/p>\n

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri has said there is no moral conflict, \u201cabsolutely none\u201d, in India’s purchase of oil from Russia, which is facing condemnation over its ongoing war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe owe a moral duty to our consumers,\u201d Mr Puri said in an interview with CNN at Abu Dhabi, citing India’s population of 1.3 billion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don’t feel any pressure. [Narendra] Modi’s government doesn’t feel the pressure. We are the fifth largest economy in the world,\u201d he further said during the interview, \u201cIndia will respond according to its supreme national interest.<\/p>\n

To a pointed question if there was moral conflict in buying from Russia, he said, \u201cAbsolutely none; absolutely none. There is no moral conflict. We don’t buy from X or Y; we buy whatever is available… I don’t do the buying. The government does not do it. Oil companies do.”<\/p>\n

CNN journalist Becky Anderson tweeted this key part of the interview.<\/p>\n

\n

“Absolutely none. There is no moral conflict.”<\/p>\n

I asked India’s Minister of Petroleum @HardeepSPuri<\/a> whether there was any moral conflict around his country’s importing Russian oil, he tells me without Russian oil, prices will only go up. pic.twitter.com\/Q6fZ4iN5bX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Becky Anderson (@BeckyCNN) October 31, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

India has not expressly taken sides at the UN on the Russia-Ukraine conflict, but it has stressed a moral position against war \u2014 which PM Modi has conveyed to President Vladimir Putin too.<\/p>\n

On the oil front, India and China now account for over half of all Russia’s exports; both cashing in on discounts as some Western countries shun Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.<\/p>\n

In September, Russia’s share in India’s oil imports surged to an all-time high of 23 per cent from 19 per cent the previous month \u2014 since April, there’s been a 50-fold surge, reported news agency Reuters. The share of Middle East oil declined a little, to about 56 per cent.<\/p>\n

Before the war began, Russian oil made up for just 0.2 per cent of oil imported by India.<\/p>\n

Mr Puri stressed this, adding, \u201cWe buy in a quarter what Europe buys in an afternoon.\u201d<\/p>\n

He acknowledged that now Russia is \u201cone of the top four or five suppliers to India. He pointed out that India’s largest oil supplier last month was Iraq.<\/p>\n

Prices will go up if no one buys Russian oil, Mr Puri stressed, adding that India will \u201cexamine\u201d if there’s any such proposal. \u201cIf prices increase, there will be inflation and recession.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what if the European Union or US were to ask India to restrict oil import from Russia, he said, \u201cYou should address this question to the EU or US.\u201d<\/p>\n

He refused to answer what he termed hypothetical questions about plans of the G-7 to impose further sanctions on Russia.<\/p>\n

The G7 group of nations (UK, US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan) has been speaking of capping the price of oil from Russia to limit its revenue, but there’s nothing concrete on that yet.<\/p>\n

India will \u201cexamine\u201d if there is any proposal, Mr Puri said.<\/p>\n

Last month in the US too, Mr Puri took the same line of argument, stressing the government’s “moral duty to provide energy to its citizens”.<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Featured Video Of The Day<\/h3>\n