Amid G7 price cap and insurance ban on Russian energy, Moscow offers Delhi leasing of ships
Russia has offered India cooperation on leasing and building large capacity ships as the ban on insurance services and tanker chartering kicks in the backdrop of G7 countries announcing a price cap. The matter came up during a discussion between Russia’s deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak and Indian ambassador Pavan Kapoor.
The price cap on Russian oil has been kept at $60 per barrel to curb Moscow’s financial support as the Ukraine conflict continues. With the price came comes insurance ban for anyone buying above that rate.
The Russian Deputy Prime Minister welcomed India’s decision not to support the price cap on Russian oil. He said, “such non-market mechanisms disrupt the international trading system as a whole and set a dangerous precedent in the energy market. As a result, the problem of energy poverty is being aggravated not only in the developing world but also in the developed countries of Europe”. He emphasized fulfilling Moscow’s contractual obligations for the supply of energy resources and further diversifying energy exports.
Last week in the Indian Parliament, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said that “regarding the oil cap, the impact of this is not very clear to us. Our concern really is what it will do to stability and affordability of the energy markets, that is the concern”.
New Delhi has increased its import of discounted Russian energy, something that has drawn criticism from European countries, albeit not publicly.
According to Russian data, in the first eight months of 2022, Russian oil exports to India grew to 16.35 million tonnes and by mid of this year, Russia ranked second in terms of oil shipments to India. The country has also increased its oil products and coal to India.
New Delhi, meanwhile, has defended its decision to import Russian energy. During a joint presser with German FM Annalena Baerbock last week, EAM pointed out that the “European Union between February 24 and 17 November, has imported more fossil fuel from Russia, than the next 10 countries combined. If I have to give you an India comparison, the oil import in European Union is like six times what India’s imported”, highlighting that “Europe will make the choices it will make that is Europe’s right. But for Europe to make choices, which prioritizes its energy needs, and then ask India to do something else.”
Alexander Novak, during the meeting also invited India’s energy minister Hardeep Singh Puri to take part in Russian Energy Week 2023 which will take place in Moscow from 11-13 October 2023.
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