New Delhi: India's oil minister, Hardeep Singh Puri, stated that global oil prices "would have skyrocketed" if India had not purchased oil from Russia after the Ukraine war began. He emphasized that oil prices would dictate where the country sources its oil from. India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil, has become the largest buyer of discounted Russian oil, which Western nations have avoided since the start of the Ukraine invasion in early 2022.

Prior to the conflict, India's oil purchases from Russia were minimal, despite a longstanding defense partnership between the two countries. New Delhi has consistently defended its decision to buy oil from Russia, arguing that it is necessary to control fuel prices for the country's 1.42 billion people.

"What many people around the world fail to understand is that global oil prices would have surged if India hadn’t bought oil from Russia," Puri wrote on X late Friday. "We are committed to our citizens – India will buy oil wherever our companies can secure the best prices." India's crude oil imports from Russia surged by 11.7% in September, reaching approximately 1.9 million barrels per day, making up about 40% of the country's total crude imports for the month. Russia was followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia as India’s top suppliers.