RoydadNaft – After high-level talks in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia and India are pursuing joint energy ventures, including oil and gas projects in the Far East and Arctic shelf. The discussions come as Washington raises tariffs on Indian goods to 50% over New Delhi’s continued purchases of discounted Russian crude.

Russia and India are interested in collaborating on joint energy projects, including oil and gas production in Russia’s Far East and Arctic shelf, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday after meeting with his Indian counterpart in Moscow.

Earlier this month, the United States announced an additional 25% tariff on India over its imports of crude from Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order enacting an additional 25% tariff on Indian goods, explicitly targeting India’s ongoing imports of Russian crude oil. The overall 50% tariff on Indian goods is set to take effect on August 27.

Since the U.S. threat to India over its purchases of Russian oil – India is actually the second-largest oil customer for Moscow after China – Russia and India have talked up their strategic partnership with high-level meetings and visits.

At the end of the meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Moscow today, Russia’s Lavrov said, as carried by Russian news agency Interfax, “We have achieved good results in cooperation in the area of hydrocarbons, Russian oil supply to the Indian market.”

“We have a mutual interest in implementing joint energy production projects, including those in Russia, in the Far East and on the Arctic shelf,” the Russian minister said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to visit India by the end of the year, Lavrov added.

Meanwhile, India appears to continue to rely on Russian crude oil despite the U.S. pressure not to buy it. Indian state refiners have returned to the spot market for purchases of Russian oil, company officials familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday, as discounts for Moscow’s crude grades deepened.

Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IndianOil) and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) have bought Russian Urals and other crudes for September and October delivery, as the discounts for Urals widened to $3 per barrel, the officials said.