India rejects NATO's threat of sanctions for energy trade with Russia

NEW DELHI, July 17 (KUNA) -- India on Thursday rejected NATO's threat of secondary sanctions on countries trading with Russia.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Indian External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that New Delhi is guided by what is available in the markets and by prevailing global circumstances in meeting its energy needs.
"Let me reiterate that securing the energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us. In this endeavour, we are guided by what is available in the markets and by prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter," Jaiswal said in response to a question over recent NATO chief Mark Rutte's threat of secondary sanctions on countries trading with Russia.
Rutte urged India, China and Brazil to reconsider trade ties with Russia or face 100% secondary sanctions if Moscow does not commit to peace talks in Ukraine.
Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri also said that India has expanded its crude import sources from 27 to 40 countries.
Commenting on Russian oil imports, he clarified that Russia remains one of the worldآ’s top oil producers with an output exceeding nine million barrels per day. He warned that a sudden removal of this supply from the global market would have created chaos, pushing prices to between USD 130 to 200 per barrel.
Puri categorically stated that India has never purchased any sanctioned cargo and that Russian oil was not under global sanctions, but only a price cap carefully structured to reflect ground realities of the international energy supply chain.
India is heavily dependent on imports to meet its energy requirements as more than 85% of its crude oil needs are met by imports. (end) atk.hb