MUNICH: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said India has committed to stop buying Russian oil, days after New Delhi reiterated that “national interests” will be the “guiding factor” for energy purchases.While announcing the trade deal with New Delhi in early February, US President Donald Trump had said that India has agreed not to buy crude oil from Russia. Since then America has made this claim several times.“In our conversations with India, we have obtained their commitment to stop purchasing additional Russian oil,” Rubio said, speaking at the Munich security conference on Saturday. He was responding to a question on the Russia-Ukraine war and the sanctions imposed on Moscow.Responding to a question at the same conference on whether the trade deal with the US will impact energy ties with Russia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had earlier said India is strongly committed to strategic autonomy “because it is a part of our history and our development. It is something that runs very deep, and something that cuts across the political spectrum as well.”The minister described the global oil market as complex and dynamic. “Oil companies in India, like in Europe, possibly in other parts of the world, look at the availability, look at the costs, look at the risks and make decisions that they feel are in their best interests,” Jaishankar said. After announcing the deal, Trump in an executive order had withdrawn the additional 25% tariff imposed on India in August on its purchases of crude oil from Russia.
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