India eyes 'reliable, stable' oil deliveries from Russia

Foreign Minister Surahmanyam Jaishankar says India would like to keep advantage of relations with Russia

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) – India is interested in "reliable and stable" oil supplies from Russia, the country's foreign minister said on Tuesday.

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow following a meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar praised Russia as "a steady and time-tested partner."

The energy market is under serious strain which is created by a number of factors, Jaishankar said.

India is the third largest world consumer of oil and gas, but its income is not very high, therefore, the government has obligations to ensure the best access to international energy markets with most favorable terms, the top Indian diplomat said.

The Russian-Indian relations, Jaishankar said, are beneficial for energy sector.

"We would like to preserve the advantage in our relations in the future," he said.

Russia became India's largest oil supplier in October, overtaking traditional top suppliers Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

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