‘We cannot interfere…’: What Kremlin said on India’s declining Russian oil imports

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday (Dec 2) said that the decline in India’s imports of Russian oil may only last for a “brief period” as Moscow plans to ramp up supplies to New Delhi. He added that Russia understands pressure on India, referring to the sweeping tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump over its oil imports from Moscow. Peskov further said that they “admire” that India is very sovereign in defining its national interests. Kremlin spokesperson’s remarks come days ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India, during which he will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“We cannot interfere in the diplomatic relations between the US and India. We understand that there is pressure over India. This is the reason we have to be careful in creating an architecture of the relationship that must be free of any influence coming from any third country...We know that India is very soverign in defining its national interests. We admire this characteristic of India,” Peskov said.

“We’re looking forward to possibilities despite everything to ensure our right to sell oil and to ensure the right of those who want to purchase oil to ensure the right to buy our oil. We are working on creating a necessary environment for ensuring these rights,” he said.

Lauding the Russia-India relationship, Peskov said, “Russia-India relationship is not just a standard set of diplomatic protocols and trade agreements, it’s much more important.”

The Kremlin spokesperson further underlined the bilateral relations between the two countries that have deep historical roots. “Our bilateral relationship rests on a deep historical background of mutual understanding, partnership, and a shared vision of global affairs and a system grounded in international law, the rule of law, and the ability to take each other’s interests into account. This is a very important characteristic of our relationship,” he said.

He continued, “We are proud to have been shoulder to shoulder next to our Indian friends during their historic growth. We are very grateful to India for a very friendly stand nowadays, very friendly stand towards our country...”

Peskov also expressed Russia’s support for India against terrorism. “We strongly condemn terrorism. Our country has suffered a lot because of terrorism. We know that India has faced this threat numerous times. We think that the only way to combat terrorism is to have international cooperation...” he said.