– No moral conflict in India buying Russian oil, says Hardeep Puri
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri has said that India doesn’t have any moral conflict on purchasing oil from Russia, which has faced criticism internationally due to its war with Ukraine.
In an interview with CNN in Abu Dhabi, Puri while responding to a question on whether India felt any moral conflict while seeking oil supplies from Russia, replied: “Absolutely none.”
“Absolutely none, absolutely none. There is no moral conflict. We don’t buy from X or Y. We buy whatever is available. I don’t do the buying. The government does not do it. Oil companies do. We owe a moral duty to our consumers,” he said.
“We don’t feel any pressure. Modi’s government doesn’t feel the pressure. We are the fifth largest economy in the world. India will respond according to its supreme national interest,” he added. – IANS
– Zelensky demands firmer defence of Ukraine grains export corridor
A long-term defence is needed for Ukraine’s grain export corridor and the world must respond firmly to any Russian attempts to disrupt it, President Volodymyr Zelensky said, as more ships were loading despite Moscow suspending its participation in a U.N.-brokered deal. – Reuters
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 02 November 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/hqAH81WAjr
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/u0xrrTCTpm
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) November 2, 2022
– 1,000 ‘heating points’ set up in Kyiv as winter looms – while Russia is accused of ‘covert’ mobilisation – Sky News.
– Banking tycoon renounces citizenship of ‘fascist’ Russia over Ukraine war
Russian banking tycoon Oleg Tinkov renounced his Russian citizenship in a public rebuke of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, saying he “can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country.”
He added Tuesday that he plans to revoke his name from Tinkoff Bank, the Russian commercial bank he founded in 2006, writing: “I hate when my brand/name is associated with the bank that collaborates with killers and blood.”
The businessman announced that he had ended his citizenship in an Instagram post on Monday, sharing an image of the official document certifying his renunciation, which was dated Oct. 26. “I hope more prominent Russian businessmen will follow me, so it weakens Putin’s regime and his economy,” he said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He added: “I hate Putin’s Russia, but love all Russians, who are clearly against this crazy war!”
That post was later deleted, with Tinkov saying Tuesday that it had “mysteriously disappeared” and speculating that it could have been the work of “Kremlin trolls.” – The Washington Post
Billionaire Oleg Tinkov renounces Russian citizenship over war against Ukraine: “I can’t and won’t be associated with a fascist country that started a war with their peaceful neighbor and killing innocent people daily”
I know many Russians were looking at this war with his eyes.— Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) November 1, 2022
– Grain exports must not be disrupted, Kyiv says
A long-term defence is needed for Ukraine’s grain export corridor and the world must respond firmly to any Russian attempts to disrupt it, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said, as more ships were loading despite Moscow suspending its participation in a U.N.-brokered deal. – Reuters
– Putin, Erdogan discuss grain export deal over phone
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held a phone conversation on Tuesday to discuss the implementation of a deal on the export of grain from the Black Sea ports.
A Kremlin statement said that Putin repeated Russia’s accusation that Ukraine used the humanitarian corridor to carry out strikes on the infrastructure and vessels of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol, which ensured the safe operation of the shipping route.
Putin called for a detailed investigation into the incident and demanded Ukraine’s guarantee of not using the humanitarian corridor for military purposes, before discussing the issue of resuming work within the deal or the Black Sea Grain Initiative.
According to Putin, part of the Black Sea Grain Initiative has failed as restrictions on the export of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to world markets are not removed.
He also noted that during three months of the deal, the task of ensuring the delivery of food as a priority to the most needy countries was not fulfilled.
In this regard, Putin voiced Russia’s readiness to supply “significant volumes” of grain and fertilizers to Africa for free. – Xinhua
