India| Germany
'Not our business': Germany on India's purchase of Russian oil at discounted rate
New Delhi/IBNS: German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann, Wednesday stated that India's purchase of oil from Russia is not a matter of concern for Germany and that no government can be held responsible for procuring oil at a low price.
According to the German Ambassador, India would be a suitable contender to find a resolution to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, but not in the present circumstances.
"India buying oil from Russia is none of our business, basically. That's something which the Indian Government decides and as you get it at a very low price, I cannot blame any government who buys it," said Ackermann answering questions about the visit of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to India, scheduled for Feb 25-26.
On being asked about India being a potential mediator for the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he said: "But we would like to see some Indian engagement at some stage. India is a very appropriate candidate at some stage to come up with some solution. But, I don't think this is the time now."
"I say this with all due caution because we have listened to what Putin said yesterday. When you want to find a solution to the conflict, you need two parties to be prepared to find this solution," he added.
The West has expressed disapproval towards India's procurement of oil from Russia at a reduced cost, citing the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
However, India has defended its actions, pointing out that its monthly energy acquisition from Russia is significantly lower than Europe's daily intake.
In December, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar said that the previous year Europe had procured an egregiously larger amount of fossil fuel in comparison to India during the period spanning February to November.
"I think first we need to establish the facts very clearly. Between February 24 and November 17, the European Union has imported more fossil fuel from Russia than the next 10 countries combined.
The oil import in the European Union is like six times what India has imported. Gas is infinite because we do not import it while the European Union imported 50 billions Euros worth (of gas)," Jaishankar had stated.
According to Reuters reports citing data from trade sources in the trading industry, India imported a record 1.4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from Russia in January, an increase of 9.2% from December.
Russia remained the leading supplier of oil to India, with Iraq and Saudi Arabia following closely behind.
"India is an appropriate candidate to come up with a solution (to stop the Russia- Ukraine war). India has skilled and good diplomacy," Ambassador Ackermann added.
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