India Is Not Cutting Russia’s Imports, but Increasing Them

March 14, 2022 (EIRNS)—Reuters cited two Indian officials in a report today that India plans greatly to increase its imports of oil from Russia. India imports 80% of its oil use, usually with only a few percent coming from Russia. But “Russia is offering oil and other commodities at a heavy discount. We will be happy to take that,” the news service quoted one of the officials. Preparatory work is required logistically and with insurance, but India intends to import a much larger share of oil from Russia. And the officials say, it will then proceed to increase its Russian fertilizer imports as well.

As to the killer sanctions of the NATO nations, Reuters chooses to play the issue purely geopolitically: The extreme threats and demands made against China will not be made against India because it is an adversary of China!

The British service is undoubtedly aware of, but does not mention, the negotiations under way between India and Russia to establish their trade settlement in their national currencies—in this case, paying for the oil and fertilizer in Indian rupees—without use of the dollar or euro. EIR Daily Alert for March 14 reported those plans in “India May Be Mulling a Ruble-Rupee Payment System for Trade with Russia.”