Amid Sanctions Threats Over Russian Oil, Hardeep Puri Clarifies: 'EU Buys In One Afternoon What India Buys In A Quarter'

(MENAFN- Live Mint) Union Oil Minister Hardeep Puri on Thursday slammed the European Union on threatning sanctions on countries, including India, for purchasing Russian oil amid its war with Ukraine.

Speaking at the Urja Varta annual conference of the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons (DGH), Puri addressed concerns over Donald Trump and NATO's warning of sanctions on countries buying oil from Russia.

He claimed that the European Union , a group of states threatening the sanctions, is the largest buyer of Russia's LNG exports, followed by China and Japan.

“In terms of LNG or natural gas, the EU was the largest buyer, EU is purchasing 51 per cent of Russia's LNG exports, followed by China 21 per cent and Japan 18 per cent,” Puri said.

“In terms of pipeline gas, the EU was the largest buyer purchasing 37 per cent of Russia's pipeline gas, followed by China 30 per cent and Turkey 27 per cent,” he added.

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Recalling an old conversation with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar back in 2022, Hardeep Puri addressed a mixup that came across during that time.

“When my colleague, Mr. Jaishankar , when this whole process had started, when he was going for a discussion in the United States, he asked me over the phone casually, 'what happens if I am asked about Russian purchases?'” Puri said.

The oil minister clarified that Jaishankar had probably misheard what he said.

“I said, 'friend, you tell them that they buy more in one afternoon - this is early days - than I buy in a quarter.'” he said.

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“I think the telephone line must not have been absolutely clear. So he ended up saying, 'I believe you buy more in one afternoon than I buy in a month.' Though, I meant in a quarter,” Puri added.

Jaishankar had in 2022 inaccurately claimed that India buys in a month the amount of oil Europe buys in an afternoon.

“If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe...We do buy some energy which is necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon,” he had said.

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