Business Standard | This isn't time for war, says Hardeep Puri on Russia Ukraine conflict

Feb 24,2023

Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs and Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, on Thursday, reiterated India's position in the Russia-Ukraine war and said, "this is not the time for war."

Speaking to ANI, Puri quoted the European ambassador's statement, "we don't care where India buys energy from but think India can help in bringing resolution to what's going on" and added, "India's position is that this isn't time for war."

On the eve of one-year anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in an interview with a different media organization, Ugo Astuto, the ambassador of the European Union, commented on India's position in continuing with procurement of crude oil from Russia and also appreciates New Delhi's overall stand on the Ukraine conflict.

The Union Minister also said that India will accelera  te the green transition and will go down the bio-fuels way. "We've seen a news report that 38 per cent of additional sugar is going for ethanol production. We can see enthusiasm all around," he added.

"There's no country which has more potential for electric vehicles than India. Japanese and German manufacturers are bringing new electric vehicles, and there's green hydrogen potential, CNG. India will go to be the laboratory case where we'll find all these technologies," Puri said.

Earlier, in November 2022 also, Puri reiterated that India is under no moral conflict to stop buying oil from Russia.

Responding to a question by CNN's Becky Anderson who questioned Puri on whether India had "qualms" over purchasing so much from Russia, the minister said: "Absolutely none, there is no moral conflict, if somebody wants to take an ideological position...We don't buy from X or Y, we buy whatever is available. I don't do the buying, it's the oil companies who do the buying."

Puri defended India's purchases stating that India only bought 0.2 per cent, not 2 per cent of Russian oil and it buys a quarter of what Europe buys in one afternoon.

Asked whether India is benefitting from discounted rates of Russia, Puri said, "Let me first try and correct your perspective, we ended the financial year 2022, the purchases of Russian oil were not 2 per cent, it was 0.2 per cent. Moreover, we still buy a quarter of what Europe buys in one afternoon. So, let's be very clear about what the perspective is."

Asked about India's backup plan if the West decides to tighten the oil ban from Russia, Puri said "We have many backup plans, I don't look at the way you are looking at it. We have healthy discussions going on with the US and Europe. We don't feel any pressure, Modi's government doesn't feel the pressure. We are the fifth largest economy in the world, and we are the one country, which is making the transition. When you have an increase in the oil prices, they have consequences - one of them is - there will be inflation and recession, another is we will make the transition in green energy." The union minister also cleared the air about Russia being the largest supplier of oil to India.