The Wall Street Journal indicated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi refuses to bow to Washington’s pressures, despite tariffs that could harm the Indian economy. This reflects the significance of relations with Russia for India. The newspaper confirmed that this import enabled New Delhi to sell gasoline in the local market at lower prices and re-export oil products at higher profit margins. Russian President Vladimir Putin met last Thursday with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval at the Kremlin. The meeting was attended by Russian Security Council Secretary Sergey Shoygu and Russian Presidential Aide Yuri Ushakov. Shoygu announced that Russia is committed to continuing active cooperation with India to create a fairer global system and ensure the sovereignty of international law. This came after an earlier statement that India intends to reject buying oil from Russia. Simultaneously, the Indian newspaper ‘Mint’ reported, citing sources, that state-owned Indian oil refineries continue to purchase oil from Russian suppliers. India is the third-largest energy importer in the world, buying more than 80% of its oil consumption from global markets. Earlier, the ‘Times of India’ reported, citing data from the commodity market analytics firm ‘Kpler,’ that India’s imports rose to their highest level in 11 months in June. This increase in purchases followed escalating geopolitical tensions between Israel and Iran.
