India and China are burning potatoes in Ukraine war

 The Ukraine war has brought two clear adversaries to the fore. Western world with Ukraine on one side. On the other is Russia and its Eastern European allies. Second, the number of powerful countries is less. But going beyond these two sides, the two countries have boosted trade. They are China and India.

  In view of the situation, when Ukraine's house is on fire, these two countries are busy trying to eat burnt potatoes without trying to put it out.

A look at the statistics will make it clear how this is happening. According to the calculations of the Ministry of Commerce of the Central Government of India, the amount of goods that India imported from Russia from April to December last year was worth 3 thousand 288 million US dollars (about 3 lakh 45 thousand 240 crore rupees). According to the information provided by the news agency Reuters, the previous year i.e. at this time in 2021, the amount of trade between the two countries was only 6.58 billion dollars. That is, the trade between India and Russia has increased almost five times.

  India buys the most oil from Russia. India has been making record purchases of oil from the country for several months. According to the Economic Times of India, India bought 1.4 million barrels of oil per day from Russia last January. India bought 28 percent of its oil from the world market that month from Russia. But before sending troops to Ukraine in February 2022, India's oil purchase from Russia was 0.2 percent. It rose to 28 percent in a year.

On the other hand, due to increased trade with Russia, India's oil purchases from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) have decreased. According to Reuters data, in 2008 India bought 87 percent of its oil from OPEC countries. In 2022, it has come down to 64.5 percent. That is, the new reality is that India has reduced its oil dependence on OPEC after the start of the Ukraine war.

India is an ally of the West. At the same time, it is also an old friend of Russia. India did not directly stand by the Westerners in the Ukraine war. India is keeping aloof and taking advantage of the new cold war that the world is embroiled in due to this war. Because of this war, Europe is trying hard to reduce its energy dependence on Russia, and because of Western sanctions, Russia is selling oil at a lower price than the world market. In that opportunity, India is buying more oil at a lower price.