Russia ready to continue close cooperation with India in energy supplies - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. Feb 4 (Interfax) - Moscow is ready to pursue close cooperation with New Delhi in hydrocarbon supplies, and is convinced that this maintains stability on the global energy market, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said.

"We remain convinced that India's purchases of Russian hydrocarbons are beneficial to both countries and contribute to maintaining stability on the international energy market. We are ready to continue close cooperation in this area with our partners in India," Zakharova said at a briefing on Wednesday.

She was asked to comment on U.S. President Donald Trump's statement on India's agreement to abandon Russian oil purchases and the two countries' agreement on U.S. tariffs on Indian imports.

"The U.S. president's claims to the right to tell independent states with whom to trade are not new. India's position is also well known, as it has been repeatedly expressed by this country's leadership, India's leaders, both in contacts with Russian counterparts and publicly, namely: in matters of foreign economic cooperation, New Delhi is guided solely by national interests, making sovereign decisions based on commercial expediency," Zakharova said.

"We have no reason to believe that our Indian friends have reconsidered their approach," she said.