Merezhko said that he had previously lived in New Delhi and found the question of India’s oil purchases “painful”. But as the war continues with no end in sight, the lawmaker also backed sanctions against buyers contending that such nations were “financing the Russian economy and the Russian military machine”.
“They should be consistent. This is a global conflict between democracy – the free world – and authoritarian regimes. There shouldn’t be any compromise because of material economic interest,” he said.
The western sanctions against Moscow are currently not recognised by India.
Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources, Indian refiners have started paying for a significant part of their Russian oil purchases in UAE dirhams. While the purchase of Russian oil does not at present violate any sanctions, banks and financial institutions have become increasingly wary about clearing payments in a manner that will not fall foul of the many measures imposed against the other country.
Indian refiners and traders are concerned they may not be able to continue to settle trades in dollars, especially if the price of Russian crude rises above a cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations and Australia in December. That has led traders to seek alternative methods of payment, which could also aid Russia’s efforts to de-dollarise its economy in response to the Western sanctions.
