Pakistan: Imran Khan again hails India for procuring Russian oil at discounted rate; laments he couldn't
Although his Russia tour was the first visit by a Pakistani premier to Moscow in the past 23 years, Khan could not broker any deal that could give relief to the cash-strapped country.
Pakistan economic crisis: As Pakistan reeling under the worst-ever economic crisis, former Prime Minister Imran Khan lamented his country could also purchase Russian crude oil at a discounted rate that India enjoys despite the ongoing Ukraine war.
While addressing the countrymen in a video message, Khan claimed he had discussed the purchase of oil at a discounted rate when he met Russian President Vladimir Putin just days before the latter announced a full-fledged war against neighbouring Ukraine.
Imran Khan could not broker any deal
Although his Russia tour was the first visit by a Pakistani premier to Moscow in the past 23 years, Khan could not broker any deal that could give relief to the cash-strapped country.
"We wanted to get cheap Russian crude oil just like India but that could not happen. Unfortunately, my government fell due to a no-confidence motion just four weeks after I returned to Moscow," Khan said. Notably, his claims were not confirmed by any of the Russian media outlets when he visited Moscow last year.
Khan has a habit of praising India
Interestingly, this was not the first time when Khan acknowledged India's achievements in terms of growing its economy and purchasing Russian oil despite Western pressure.
"No other leader except Nawaz in the world has properties worth billions. Tell me about one country whose Premier or leader has billions worth of properties outside the country. Even in our neighbouring country, how many properties does PM Modi has outside India?" he had said at a public gathering in September.
Russian oil export nearly 22-fold
It is worth noting that India is the world’s third-largest oil-consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its crude oil needs. Ever since the war between Russia and its neighbouring nation started last year, the West and Europe imposed stringent sanctions on its energy. This resulted in Russia's offering more discounts to its oldest ally, India.
Recently, a top Russian official claimed it supplied crude oil to India nearly 22-fold ever since the West imposed sanctions. According to multiple state news agencies, the Russian Deputy Prime Minister said that the maximum energy was diverted to "friendly nations" after the United States and the European Union imposed back-to-back sanctions on Russian energy.
Recently, Indian Oil signed a contract
"Most of our energy resources were diverted to friendly countries," several state news agencies quoted Alexander Novak as saying. "For example, Russian oil sales to India surged at least 22 times," he added.
Sanctions hit Russia signed an agreement with an Indian oil giant intending to boost the crude oil supply. According to the Russian news agency, TASS, Moscow's top oil company Rosneft signed a deal with the Indian Oil Company to increase the supply of petroleum to New Delhi.