Putin spoke to India’s India Today television, and the conversation was published hours after he landed in New Delhi, where he arrived for a visit that both countries hope will boost trade between them.
The goal of Putin’s first visit to India in four years is to increase sales of Russian oil, missile systems and fighter jets, and to expand cooperation beyond the spheres of energy and defense.
The Russian president arrived in India at a time of great pressure from Washington on New Delhi to reduce its ties with Moscow.
The two countries have been close since the time of the former Soviet Union, and Russia has been the main source of arms for India for decades. The Asian country also became the largest buyer of Russian oil transported by sea after the introduction of Western sanctions due to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
India’s oil imports should fall to the lowest level in the past three years this month after the US introduced tariffs on imports from India and tightened sanctions against Russia that also affect third countries.
US President Trump’s administration has emphasized that India’s purchase of cheap Russian oil is helping Moscow finance the war in Ukraine.
“The United States continues to buy nuclear fuel from us for its nuclear power plants. And it is fuel,” Putin told India Today.
“If the US has the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn’t India have the same privilege? That issue deserves deep analysis, and we are ready to discuss it, including with President Trump,” the Russian president added.
India previously said that Trump’s tariffs are unjustified and irrational and reminded that the US still trades with Russia. The US and the European Union continue to import billions of dollars worth of Russian energy, from LNG to enriched uranium.
Asked about India’s decline in oil purchases from his country, Putin admitted that there was “a certain decline in overall trade in the first nine months of this year.”
“It is only a minor adjustment. In total, our trade exchange is at almost the same levels as before. Trade in oil products and crude oil, Russian oil, in India runs smoothly,” concluded Putin, reports Index.hr.
(Vijesti.ba)
