Russian fuel last month accounted for 28 percent of the five million bpd of crude oil purchased by India, which remains the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer.

Russia remains India’s top monthly oil supplier, ahead of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Both External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Oil and Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri made New Delhi’s position clear at various global forums, stating that the country will buy oil from anywhere in the world to boost economic growth and lift millions out of poverty.

The South Asian nation imports 85 percent of the crude oil it needs and then transforms it into fuels such as gasoline and diesel at its refineries.

New Delhi vehemently defends its trade with Moscow, saying it has to source oil wherever it is cheapest.

Jaishankar told Parliament in December that domestic refiners will continue to seek the best deals in the country’s interest.

mem/abm