Kathmandu. After the US lawmakers passed a bill to impose more sanctions on Russia, India has said that it will take all necessary measures to protect its energy security and economic interests. India has made it clear that it will continue the policy of buying oil from various countries for energy supply.

The U.S. law targets Russia’s energy and defense sector, President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials, as well as Russia’s “shadow shipping conglomerate” that is being used to evade Western sanctions. The law would give U.S. President Donald Trump the authority to impose additional tariffs of up to 100 percent on major buyers of Russian oil and gas. This could affect Russian energy buyers such as China and India.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs has said that the government is committed to ensuring energy security for 1.40 billion people. The ministry has said that it will procure energy from various sources and arrange the supply according to the changing international market. At the same time, India has made it clear that it will take all necessary measures to protect its trade and economic interests.

Despite Russia’s war in Ukraine and pressure from the US and Western countries, India has continued to buy Russian oil. In the midst of the volatility seen in the energy market in the recent past, India has increased the purchase of Russian oil and eased the supply system.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in New Delhi last week. According to India, the issue of Russian oil purchases has been discussed at the highest level with US officials in recent months.

According to trade data company Kepler, India’s Russian crude oil imports reached 2.81 million barrels per day in July. After that, it fell to about 2.07 million barrels per day last month.