NEW DELHI: India on Thursday reiterated that it has been looking at keeping its economic ties with Russia stable and that it procures "very little" Russian crude oil. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said this when asked at a media briefing about reports that India is buying more Russian crude oil.
Bagchi said that India's position on Russia has been "clear and steadfast". "We are looking at how to keep our economic relations stable...We procure very little oil from Russia.It is not done on a government-to-government basis," he said.
Bagchi also said that he was not aware whether India's procurement of crude oil from Russia has increased or not. He said that India had a very good conversation with the US on the matter. There has been some disquiet in the western countries over India's position on the Ukraine crisis as well as its decision to procure discounted Russian oil.