India will buy Russian oil regardless of the duration of the US sanctions suspension

(Patria) - New Delhi will continue to buy Russian oil regardless of whether the United States extends the suspension of anti-Russian sanctions, a source from the Indian government told TASS.

The thirty-day exemption period for Russian oil from US sanctions expires on April 11.

"The United States decided to temporarily lift (sanctions on Russian oil) on its own initiative. They can do whatever they want. This period was imposed not in our interest, but in their own interest. This is a matter for the US government. In any case, we continue to buy oil from Russia. Even when sanctions were in place and there was no this (sanctions suspension period), we bought it," the source said.

"India must ensure energy security for the well-being of its people," he said. "This is very important to us. And we make decisions (about oil purchases) based on the global situation and market conditions."

In early March, the US Department of the Treasury lifted sanctions on the sale of oil and oil products from Russia loaded onto ships before March 12. The general license issued by the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) allows such transactions until April 11.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko told TASS, following Russian-Indian consultations between the foreign ministries in New Delhi, that Moscow does not rule out the possibility that Washington will extend the suspension of sanctions on the sale of oil and oil products from Russia in order to stabilize the global energy market.