'India bought Russian oil, because we wanted somebody to buy...': US Ambassador Eric Garcetti

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti admitted that India bought Russian oil because the US wanted somebody to buy Russian oil. "The US allowed the purchase to take place to ensure the prices did not go up globally," he added.

Garcetti was speaking at the Conference on Diversity in International Affairs organised by the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington earlier this week.

The US ambassador was speaking on the subject of the evolving nature of US-India relations and 'small victories' achieved in the context of Russia-China influence in the region.  

Garcetti also highlighted that due to this arrangement global oil prices didn't shoot up and "India delivered on that."

Garcetti also discussed the collaborative effort between US and India in engaging with China and Russia on Ukraine during the G20 Summit.

"During G20, they were able to take Russia to the side on the matter of the statement on Ukraine, which was critical of Russia. So, they were able to deliver Russia, we were able to deliver Europe, and that boxed in China," he said. "It showed the success of the multiplicative nature of this relationship... it's a very loyal relationship."

India's purchase of Russian oil

India emerged as one of the top buyers of Russian sea-borne oil since Western nations imposed sanctions and halted purchases in response to Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The United States has not asked India to cut Russian oil imports as the goal of sanctions and the G7-imposed $60 per barrel price cap is to have stable global oil supplies while hitting Moscow's revenue, Reuters reported.

"It is important to us to keep the oil supply on the market. But what we want to do is limit Putin's profit from it," Eric Van Nostrand, who is performing the duties of US Treasury assistant secretary for economic policy, told Reuters referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The price cap imposed by the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations, the European Union and Australia ban the use of Western maritime services such as insurance, and flagging the transportation when tankers carry Russian oil priced at or above $60 a barrel.

In February, the US imposed sanctions on Russia's leading tanker group, Sovcomflot, which it accused of being involved in violating the G7's price cap on Russian oil, as well as 14 crude oil tankers tied to Sovcomflot.

The sanctions marked the second anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine and in retaliation for the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Indian oil refineries have stopped accepting Russian crude oil delivered by tankers operated by Sovcomflot — Russia’s largest commercial shipping company that has been sanctioned by the US —Bloomberg reported, potentially dealing a blow to Moscow’s economy as India is one of the largest importers of its fossil fuels since the start of the Ukraine war, Bloomberg had reported earlier this year.