India’s import of Russian energy represents only 1 to 2 percent of the country’s total energy imports, the White House said in its latest remarks as the purchase of Russian oil remains a hotly debated issue amid the Ukraine war.
The matter has come up in discussions between the top officials of India and the US in the recent past yet Washington has maintained that it’s “a country’s individual decision to ban imports” to put pressure on Moscow.
“Daleep Singh, our deputy national security adviser was just there (India). Energy payments are not sanctioned, that’s a decision made by each individual country. We’ve been very clear that each country is going to make its own decision even as we’ve made the decision and other countries have made the decision to ban energy imports,” Jen Psaki, White House press secretary, said at a press briefing when she was questioned about India’s oil purchase.
“What Dileep made clear during his visit was that it was not in India’s interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities. Right now, just to make it clear, India’s import of Russian energy represents only 1 to 2 percent of their total energy imports. So while he already explained the mechanism of sanctions, he also made it clear that we would have to be partners in reducing the reliance on Russian energy,” she added.
