‘Do We Switch Off Our Economy?’: Indian Diplomat Stands Firm on Russia Oil Trade

India Won’t Turn Off Its Economy Over Oil, Says Envoy on Russia Ties.

India’s High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, has strongly defended the country’s continued oil imports from Russia, pushing back against Western criticism and saying that national interest and economic stability cannot be compromised for geopolitical optics.

Speaking to Times Radio, Doraiswami said India has been unfairly singled out for maintaining ties with Moscow, while many of its critics continue trading with countries they now want India to avoid.

“Many of our European partners are still buying rare earths and energy from the same countries they’re asking us to shun,” he said. “We are the world’s third-largest energy consumer, importing over 80% of our needs. What would you have us do — switch off our economy?”

He explained that India’s relationship with Russia spans decades and is rooted in long-term defense and energy cooperation. “Some of our Western partners refused to sell us weapons in the past, even as they armed nations that attacked us,” Doraiswami said, referring to India’s reliance on Russian arms since the Cold War.

Doraiswami argued that the shift to Russian crude was driven by global supply changes after Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and diverted their energy purchases. “We didn’t create the shortage. Others moved, and we had to adjust,” he said.

India imported around 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil between January and June — up 1% from a year earlier — largely due to steep discounts following the 2022 Ukraine invasion.

In response to US President Donald Trump’s recent threat to impose sanctions on countries that continue buying Russian exports unless Moscow agrees to a peace deal within 50 days, Doraiswami said India would act in its own interest.

“We see others managing convenient relationships with countries that create difficulties for us,” he added. “Do we ask them to pass some loyalty test?”