Western allies move to cap the price of Russian oil at $60 a barrel
Washington PostDec 24, 2022
The Facts
India’s Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar signaled on Monday that the country will put its energy needs above pressure from Western governments, and continue to buy oil from Russia.
Jaishankar also provided Moscow with a list of products available for trade with India in order to narrow the trade deficit between the countries. Russia is India’s largest supplier of oil and India is looking to rebalance its trade, while Moscow is suffering from acute shortages of materials amid Western sanctions.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
India continues to sit on the fence and tacitly support Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine. As other countries look to reduce the amount of oil they buy from Russia, India has increased its imports ten-fold since Putin’s invasion. India is putting profit above a principled and necessary show of opposition to Putin's attempted imperialist expansion.
Establishment-critical narrative
India is a sovereign nation that will continue to put its energy needs ahead of G7 demands. While India respects other countries’ decisions to implement sanctions, it must work to provide the necessary energy to its people. New Delhi will not bend its knee to hypocritical countries that import more Russian oil than India does.
