India overtook China as the world’s largest importer of Russian oil in July as Chinese refiners bought less due to lower profit margins from fuel production, Reuters reported on Aug. 22, citing a comparison of import data.
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, trade between Russia and India has increased. India became one of the chief buyers of Russian oil, although pressure from U.S. sanctions increasingly threatens this trade.
The share of Russian oil in the total volume of Indian imports in July was a record 44%, rising to 2.07 million barrels per day, which is 4.2% higher than in June and 12% more than a year ago, data from Reuters’ sources in trade and industry showed.
This exceeded China's July oil imports from Russia of 1.76 million barrels per day via pipelines and shipments, according to Chinese customs data.
"India's requirement for Russian oil is going to go up as long as there are no further tightening of sanctions," an Indian refining source told Reuters.
Iraq reportedly remained India's second largest oil supplier in July, followed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
New Delhi has been calling for a diplomatic solution to Russia's war against Ukraine but has been simultaneously fostering close economic ties with Moscow.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi plans to visit Ukraine on Aug. 23, the eve of Ukraine’s Independence Day, for the first time in the history of bilateral relations between the two nations.
The previous month, Modi visited Russia and held talks with President Vladimir Putin, a meeting that included a widely criticized hug between the two leaders.
Shashi Tharoor
