India will not buy liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced under the Russian Arctic LNG 2 project, which is under sanctions from Western countries. This was stated by Indian Petroleum Secretary Pankaj Jain, reports Komersant ukrainskyi
reports with reference to Reuters.
“We will not buy supplies from Arctic LNG 2. We are not buying any goods under sanctions. We are not touching anything that is subject to wide-ranging sanctions,” Jain said,
– jain said.
Russia’s Novatek (NVTK.MM) Arctic LNG 2 project is subject to Western sanctions over Russia’s war against Ukraine. The United States has also imposed sanctions on hundreds of organisations and individuals for supporting Russia’s war effort, including companies that support the development of the Arctic LNG 2 project and its LNG supplies.
Follow us on Telegram: the main news in a nutshell
India – Russia
India’s clear refusal to buy sanctioned Russian gas is somewhat confusing, as India is one of the countries that benefits most from not joining the anti-Russian sanctions. Over the years of the full-scale war in Ukraine, it has overtaken China to become the largest buyer of Russian oil. The amount of oil India buys from Russia has increased from statistically insignificant levels in the 2021-2022 financial year to more than 1.5 million barrels per day in 2023-2024, which is a third of all oil purchased by the country. India also cooperates with Russia in military-technical terms.
Nevertheless, a month ago, the head of the Indian government paid his first-ever visit to Ukraine. After that visit, it turned out that despite India’s trade friendship with Russia, Indian ammunition was being shipped to Ukraine. And in August, India’s imports of Russian oil fell by 18%.
According to some analysts, this may indicate that India is cautiously and gradually changing its pragmatic pro-Russian policy to one focused on the European Union, with which India plans to establish a strategic trade partnership.