India's oil purchases have been and always would be guided by its own "energy security requirements" as well as prevailing global circumstances and conditions, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing on Friday.
The statement was made in response to a question if India had reached out to Middle-East oil producers in the wake of additional sanctions announced by the US Treasury targeting Russian energy companies and around 183 vessels operating in Russian energy sector.
Responding to a question on the possible impact of US sanctions on India's oil purchases with Russia, the MEA spokesperson informed the briefing that India was in touch with the US on the matter.
"These additional sanctions which have been announced pertain to several entities and individuals in the Russian energy sector. We are in touch with US authorities to clarify issues pertaining to impact on Indian entities," Jaiswal said. "We are working with all relevant departments and agencies to sensitise Indian companies on applicable provisions and also to inform them on new measures being implemented which could impact Indian companies in certain circumstances."
India and China have emerged as biggest importers of Russian crude in the wake of the Ukraine conflict, with Russian imports accounting for around 36% of India's overall needs in the first 11 months last year.
At the India-Russia Annual Summit at the Kremlin last July, Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked President Vladimir Putin for Russia's support in addressing the food, fertiliser and fuel crisis. Both the leaders also agreed to explore new long-term contracts in the energy sector.