NEW DELHI, April 8. /TASS/. New Delhi will continue to purchase Russian oil regardless of whether the US extends suspension of anti-Russia sanctions, a source in India’s government told TASS.
The 30-day exemption period for Russian oil from US sanctions expires on April 11.
"The United States has decided to temporarily lift [sanctions on Russian oil] on its own initiative. They can do whatever they want. They imposed this period not in our interests, but in their own interests. This is a matter for the US government. In any case, we continue to buy oil from Russia. Even when sanctions were in place and there was no this [sanctions suspension] period, we bought it," the source said.
"India needs to ensure energy security for the benefit of its people," he said. "This is very important to us. And we make decisions [on oil purchases] based on the global situation and market conditions," the source added.
In early March, the US Department of the Treasury lifted sanctions on the sale of oil and petroleum products from Russia loaded onto vessels before March 12. A general license issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorizes such transactions until April 11.
Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told TASS following Russian-Indian inter-MFA consultations in New Delhi that Moscow did not rule out that Washington could extend the suspension of sanctions on sales of oil and petroleum products from Russia in order to stabilize the global energy market.