Amazon Quiz: India’s oil imports from which country have jumped 50 times since April and now account for 10% of oil bought from overseas?
Iraq
Iran
Russia
Saudi Arabia
Answer: Russia
India has increased its oil imports from Russia after agreeing on a deal which would see President Vladimir Putin’s government get paid in rubles. This move came amidst global turmoil when several nations including the USA and European Union members took a collective decision to sanction Russian oil imports.
The global outrage stems from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on February 24, with Putin vowing to “denazify” the nation. Since then, there have been several sanctions which have attempted to impact the Russian economy. The nation has also seen businesses exit while it has lost favoured trade statuses with partner countries.
However, some countries like China and India, have decided to maintain status-quo trade relations with Russia, while trying to seek a peaceful resolution to the conflict. India, for its part, has a long history with Russia, when it comes to interdependency. It goes back to the time of the Soviet Union.
With India’s rising importance on the global stage, the US is now trying to improve relations with the nation and move it away from the Russian dependency – which includes obtaining weapons and technology from the nation. Thus, India’s move has raised some concerns among those in the US administration with there being calls for sanctions on the country too. However, there are continued efforts on part of the Joe Biden government to strengthen diplomatic ties with India, so as to negate the Russian influence. India’s non-aligned stance allows it to maintain a balanced relationship with all nations while championing its own needs and stands to benefit from the diplomatic ties to both Russia and the US.
Amazon Quiz: Who was the first Indian woman to win a medal in Olympics for this sport?
