US sanctions not to hit oil trade with India: Russia

● New Delhi-Moscow ties based on economic pragmatism, says Russian minister

- ARUNIMA BHARADWAJ

RUSSIA WILL CONTINUE to supply oil to India in an economical, legal and just manner, and the latest US sanctions on Moscow should not be a hindrance, Russia's first deputy energy minister Pavel Sorokin said on Tuesday on the sidelines of the India Energy Week here.

"We have all the means to do that (supply energy to India) and we will continue that. We have all the means to supply the energy to our clients and fulfil our contract obligations and we will continue doing that in an economical, legal, and justified way," Sorokin said.

The statement comes after the US imposed a new set of sanctions on Russia in order to stop its funding for the conflict against Ukraine. Russia became the country's top oil supplier post the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict owing to the healthy discounts Moscow offered on its supplies.

Sorokin said that Russia's relationship with India is based on economic pragmatism and that energy trade shouldn't be hindered by any politics. He also noted that it was too early to measure the impact of the latest US sanctions.