As Putin's Ukraine War Rages, Russia Becomes India's Top Oil Supplier: 'No Moral Conflict,' Says Energy Minister

Russia became the top oil supplier to India in October as low prices spurred demand from one of the world's largest oil consumers and importers, according to the energy cargo tracker Vortexa.

What Happened: Russia supplied 946,000 barrels per day of crude to India last month, edging past the traditionally dominant suppliers Saudi Arabia and Iraq, reported The Economic Times.

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Moscow accounted for 22% of India's total crude imports, the highest ever in a month, while Iraq accounted for 20.5% and Saudi Arabia's share stood at 16%.

The overall crude import shot up 5% in October compared to September, and that from Russia rose 8%, according to the data. 

The dramatic rise in Russia's share in Indian oil imports was driven by deep discounts that came in the wake of western sanctions against Russia after Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.

While other countries have bought higher volumes of African and U.S. oil since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war, Indian companies have continued to buy stranded Russian oil.

The U.S. has always expressed concerns over India continuing to trade with Moscow. However, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has often defended its stance and said the relationship with Russia has "certainly served our interests well."

India's minister for petroleum and natural gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, in a CNN interview on Tuesday, said he feels there isn't any moral conflict in buying oil from Russia.

"Absolutely none; absolutely none. There is no moral conflict. We don't buy from X or Y; we buy whatever is available... I don't do the buying. The government does not do it. Oil companies do," he said, reported NDTV. 

"We don't feel any pressure. Modi's government doesn't feel the pressure," he added.

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