New Delhi, March 11 With the West Asia conflict disrupting energy supplies, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday spoke with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, and the European Union's Foreign Policy chief, Kaja Kallas, focusing on managing the fallout of the crisis.
Global oil and gas prices have surged after Iran has effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow shipping lane between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman that handles approximately 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
"Had a productive conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. We shared our assessments on the West Asia conflict and related diplomatic efforts. We also reviewed our bilateral cooperation agenda," Jaishankar said on social media.
It is not immediately known if India's procurement of Russian crude oil was part of the discussions.
The Jaishankar-Lavrov conversation came days after the United States said it was issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to New Delhi to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil in light of disruptions in the energy market.
The external affairs minister also said that he had "useful" discussions with EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kallas on the West Asia conflict and its repercussions.
In the past few days, Jaishankar has been holding phone conversations with counterparts from several countries on the West Asia crisis.
On Tuesday, he spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun.
Like many other countries, India has also been facing a shortage of petroleum products, especially cooking gas.
India meets half of its 191 million standard cubic metres per day (mmscmd) of gas consumption through imports. With the disruption of tanker movement through the Strait of Hormuz, about 60 mmscmd of gas from the Middle East has been affected.