(MENAFN) India’s energy minister, Hardeep Puri, emphasized that the country’s oil imports from Russia serve the essential needs of its citizens while also aiding in keeping global oil prices stable.

In a conversation with a news agency on Thursday, Puri asserted that New Delhi's energy strategies have contributed to international market steadiness.

Since 2022, India has significantly increased its crude oil purchases from Russia—a move that has attracted ongoing attention from the Western media.

Despite the criticism, India has consistently refused to align with Western nations in imposing sanctions against Moscow.

“We have navigated the global energy challenges and I am confident that going forward, we will be able to do so again,” Puri remarked during the interview.

When challenged by a journalist from the channel regarding claims that India was indirectly supporting “Putin’s war machine,” the petroleum minister, who previously served as a diplomat, responded, “We will buy from wherever we can as our commitment is to the Indian consumer.”

Puri also clarified that the United States had not opposed India’s purchase of Russian oil. “If people or countries had stopped buying (Russian crude) at that stage, the price of oil would have gone up to $130 per barrel," he explained.

"That was the situation in which we were advised, including by our friends in the United States, to ‘please buy Russian oil, but within the price cap.’”

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