India’s ambassador to Russia has defended continued energy purchases from Moscow despite Western pressure, while setting out plans to expand bilateral trade to $100bn by 2030.
India’s energy security remains its overriding priority, the country’s ambassador to Russia, Vinay Kumar, has said, defending New Delhi’s purchases of Russian oil and other energy supplies despite continuing criticism from Western governments and new US sanctions pressure. Speaking in Kazan, Kumar said India must secure reliable, affordable energy for its 1.4 billion people and cannot afford to let supply decisions be driven by politics rather than price, predictability and scale.
Kumar argued that India’s approach is based on national interest and the practical need to keep fuel available for households and industry at competitive rates. He also pointed to Europe’s own energy trade with Moscow since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, saying European countries had imported more than $320 billion worth of Russian energy resources during that period. The comparison was aimed at rebutting Western criticism of India’s continued purchases of discounted Russian crude, which have become a significant part of the country’s import mix.
At the same time, Kumar said India and Russia are moving towards a much broader economic relationship. He said bilateral trade reached $38 billion in the first half of the year and expressed confidence that the two countries can meet a target of $100 billion by 2030. The ambassador said work is under way to widen India’s export basket, improve access for Indian goods in the Russian market and accelerate talks on a free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, the bloc that includes Russia and several neighbouring states.
He said Indian officials are also tackling standards-related requirements and other non-tariff barriers that can make it harder for exporters of agricultural and marine products to enter the Russian market. The aim, Kumar said, is to bring in more Indian firms with proven export records while expanding trade in areas such as fertilizers, engineering goods and agriculture. His remarks came during the second India-Russia Business Forum in Kazan, an event designed to deepen business links, investment and regional cooperation, particularly with Russia’s Republic of Tatarstan.
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