Pipe Down, Germany! India's Decision to Buy Russian Oil Stabilizes Int'l Prices - Analyst

Germany’s Economic Affairs and Climate Action Minister Robert Habeck has asked India to abandon its “neutral” stance in the Ukraine conflict, as well as raising questions on India-Russia economic ties.

European countries like Germany continue to have a “Eurocentric” world view and have completely failed to “respect and understand” India’s stance on the Ukraine conflict, a New Delhi-based academic has told Sputnik.

Dr. Raj Kumar Sharma, Maharishi Kanad Fellow at the School of Transnational Affairs of the University of Delhi, said that New Delhi’s decision to ramp up its crude purchases from Russia since last year helped “stabilize” international prices.

“Just imagine the price of oil in the international market had India and China been also buying from the same sources as European countries,” Sharma remarked.

He said that India, the third-biggest importer of crude, must prioritize its “economic and developmental needs."

Sharma stressed the fact that New Delhi’s stance on Ukraine couldn’t be made a “test case to judge India’s foreign policy behavior”.

He further underlined that ties between India and Russia have a “comprehensive historical basis."

The academic also noted that Germany’s and other EU nations' overall economic growth has suffered significantly since it decided to stop the imports of Russian energy.

The expert comments were made in reaction to remarks by Robert Habeck, Germany’s vice-chancellor and the country’s minister for economic affairs and climate action, who is on a three-day visit to India to deepen “economic cooperation”, as per an official statement.

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Economic Outlook released last month, Germany’s economy is projected to “stagnate” at zero percent in 2023, while it is forecast to grow by 1.3 percent in 2024.

In 2021, when Germany was one of the biggest recipients of Russian energy exports, its economy grew by 2.7 percent.

In comparison, the OECD Economic Outlook predicts that India will be the fastest-growing major economy both in 2023 and 2024, growing by six and seven percent, respectively.

New Delhi imported nearly 32 million tonnes of crude from Russia in 2022-23, according to data from the Indian Commerce Ministry. This year, Russia emerged as the top supplier of crude for New Delhi, overtaking its traditional suppliers in the Middle East, such as Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Driven by a surge in Russian energy exports to India, Moscow emerged as New Delhi's third-largest trading partner for the first time in history this week.

What’s more, India has continuously been resisting pressure from the G7 nations to reduce its crude imports from Russia. On a diplomatic level, New Delhi has stayed neutral in the Ukraine conflict and refused to join the western bloc in voting against Russia at the United Nations (UN).

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that importing crude from Russia is in the interest of India’s “energy security." Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman described India’s policy as an “inflation management strategy” amid global volatility in energy prices caused by Western efforts to phase out Russian commodities from global supply chains.

Russia is also the leading supplier of weapons and arms to India, accounting for 45 percent of India’s overall military needs between 2017 and 2022, according to Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

Sharma said that despite their previous failed efforts to get New Delhi on their side in a bid to “isolate” Moscow, the West would continue to keep trying. “However, this is unlikely to happen and India would continue its time-tested relations with Russia,” he said.

What Did German Minister Say?

Habeck met Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, as well as the commerce and trade minister Piyush Goyal, on Thursday. Jaishankar said that the Ukraine crisis was one of the issues discussed during the talks.

Talking to Indian media after his meetings, Habeck said: "I know that Europe is a little bit away from Asia of course, but on the other hand this is of such importance that I urge all democracies worldwide to be clear in language and political position that this is not acceptable."

In another interview given to German state media outlet Deutsche Welle (DW), Habeck said that India couldn’t be “neutral” in the Ukraine conflict.

His remarks have already drawn a sharp reaction from Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov, who urged the German minister to “concentrated on India-Germany relations” rather than discussing New Delhi’s ties with Moscow.

“Unfortunately, Germany has abandoned an independent position on security issues in Europe making its voice in the Ukrainian conflict irrelevant,” Alipov said.