No moral conflict in buying Russian oil: Hardeep Singh Puri

hardeep singh puri

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri on November 1 said there was no moral conflict in buying Russian oil.

In an interview with CNN, Puri said the government has a moral duty to consumers and they have to ensure that consumers are supplied with energy.

Defending India’s purchase of Russian oil, the minister said what India buys in a quarter, Europe buys in one afternoon.

He added that Iraq was the largest supplier of oil to India last month, and not Russia.

“Russia is not the largest supplier of oil to India, Russia supplied only 0.2 percent. Now, it is one of the top four or five suppliers and in fact, the largest supplier last month was Iraq,” Puri said.

On being asked if India would halt Russian oil imports on requests from the US and the EU, Puri said he does not address hypothetical questions. He added that oil prices would go up to $200 per barrel if India or someone else did not buy Russian oil.

Puri also said India will examine the prospect of a price cap on Russian oil, which is proposed by the Group of Seven countries or G7.

“India will examine it. India will respond according to its supreme national interest,” Puri said.

In September, G7 had agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil to hamper the country’s largest source of income.