Moscow, (Samajweekly) Some 45 countries purchase arms and defence systems from Russia, but almost all of them have voted against it at the US in the wake of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
The US and the European Union (EU) have all but singled out India for criticism, knowing well what India has been doing for six decades — when they were not ready to meet India’s defence needs.
The fact is that many of them deal with Russia, eager to trade and make investments, to suite their “national interests”. They have done that with Myanmar, Libya, Iraq and Iran when there were governments whose policies they did not approve.
The governments imposed sanctions, but their traders and corporates, including multi-national corporations, traded and invested in these ‘sanctioned’ countries. A similar process is about to begin in Afghanistan, although no government in the world is prepared to recognise the Taliban regime.
As with oil, it is so with arms for which India cannot wish away its dependence on Russia, a friend and an ally that cast its veto and helped India six times in the past at the UN Security Council. India’s imports from Russia, besides collaboration of systems like Brahmos missile, are estimated at between 60 to 85 per cent.
US President Joe Biden said that India, an “exception” among major US allies, “has been somewhat shaky” on Western sanctions punishing Russia’s war on Ukraine. On the other hand, the US has tentatively said that India’s defence purchases do not violate the sanctions, but India should, nevertheless, go slow on it.
India’s purchase of the Triumf missile system has been ‘cleared’, while reservations persist on other defence imports from Russia. In the past, such ‘clearance’ was demanded of India for its imports of T-90 tanks from Ukraine.
An energy hungry India is also being targeted for purchasing Russian oil to meet its growing demand. It is a repeat story of what had happened when it purchased oil from Iran.
While India imports most of its oil requirements from Saudi Arabia, and only 2-3 per cent from Russia, Indian Oil Corporation, the biggest state-owned fuel retailer, has reportedly bought around 3 million barrels of oil from Russia at a discounted price in the aftermath of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Principal sources of import of crude oil by India are: Iraq 23 per cent, Saudi Arabia 18 per cent, the UAE 11.3 per cent, Nigeria 8 per cent and the US 7.3 per cent.
It may be pointed out here that Russia is not in top 10 sources of Indian crude imports.
Again, the fact remains that Europe and parts of Asia are bigger importers of Russian oil and gas even to this date, post-sanctions.
Even with announced reductions by one third, the EU’s reliance on Russian gas will still remain significant. Europe is still the largest regional importer of Russia’s natural gas, accounting for nearly 75 per cent of the country’s total exports. The recipients include Germany and Italy.
Exceptions and exclusions have been built into the design of the sanctions so that Europe can continue to use and pay for Russian crude and gas, sources pointed out.
China and Japan are also among the top 10 destinations, together accounting for approximately 10 per cent or 882 billion cubic feet, of Russia’s natural gas exports.
Russian crude imports account for less than 1 per cent of India’s consumption. India imported only 0.419 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of crude oil from Russia, as compared to overall crude oil imports of 175.9 MMT in this FY.
Purchases of two-three million barrels of Russian crude by Indian refiners ignore the fact that two million barrels is not enough to meet consumption requirements for even half a day, experts say.
