NEW DELHI, January 11. /TASS/. The possibility of India joining the price cap on Russian oil is almost zero as New Delhi relies on its own political and economic interests, an Indian political analyst and Distinguished Fellow at Observer Research Foundation Nandan Unnikrishnan told TASS on Wednesday, adding that the country is not facing secondary EU sanctions for such a decision.
"At the moment the chances of India joining the price cap on oil are virtually nil. India will rely purely on its interests, economic, political, strategic. Currently there is an interest in imports of cheap oil from Russia, which India will not reject. India receives huge revenues," the expert said.
The country is not facing the threat of secondary sanctions from the European Union for purchasing Russian oil, he noted. "The Europeans have become ‘an appendage’ of the Americans as of today, whereas the Americans are not going to impose any sanctions against India as they are being very polite with the Indians, being reluctant to offend them," Nandan Unnikrishnan said.
As much as 85% of the Indian economy is in the private sector, he said. "Indian companies will adhere purely to their business interests," the political analyst said, adding that Reliance industries is the largest purchaser of Russian oil in India, which has serious assets in the US, though it has not stopped imports from Russia.
The world’s third-biggest importer of crude oil after China and the US, India is actively buying Russian oil. In early 2022, Russia’s share in the country’s oil import basket equaled 0.2%, but rose to over 20%, or almost 1 mln barrels per day, by the end of the year.