US says no ’red line’, but no rapid increase in India oil imports from Russia
Live MintThe United States will not set any "red line" for India on its energy imports from Russia but does not want to see a "rapid acceleration" in purchases, a top US official said on Thursday during a visit to New Delhi. Lured by steep discounts following Western sanctions on Russian entities, India has bought at least 13 million barrels of Russian crude oil since the country invaded Ukraine in late February. Reuters reported that Russia is offering India steep discounts on the direct sale of oil as mounting international pressure lowers the appetite for its barrels elsewhere following the invasion of Ukraine. Russia wants India to take 15 million barrels contracted for this year just to begin with, they said, adding the talks are taking place at government level.