Exclusive translation: The British newspaper, the Daily Mail, revealed that India received an offer from Russia to buy crude oil and other supplies at discounted prices.
The newspaper quoted officials in India, its willingness to accept the offer.
The newspaper commented: India, by accepting the offer, would break sanctions against Russia and join China.
The newspaper pointed out that India imports 80% of its oil needs, of which only 1% is from Russia, but with oil prices rising by 40% so far this year, the Indian government is studying the Russian offer if it can lower the bill.
The newspaper published the statements of an Indian government official, who confirmed that Russia is offering oil and other commodities at a big discount, declaring: “We will be happy to accept the offer,” but he refused to go into details of the amount of oil offered and what the discount is.
The official added that such trade requires preparatory work including transportation, covering and obtaining the right mix of crude, and once that is done India will accept its offer.