Germany is debating whether to invite India to the Group of Seven (G7) summit it is hosting in June, reported Bloomberg, adding that the reason was India’s reluctance to condemn Russia for invading Ukraine. According to the report, Germany is set to include Senegal, South Africa and Indonesia as guests at the meeting, but India remains under consideration.
India has come under a lot of pressure for refusing to completely cut ties off with Russia after its invasion of Ukraine. Indian diplomats have always highlighted that India imports oil from Russia only as per its energy security needs, and, as of now, India imports between one and two per cent of its oil needs from Russia as compared to 10 per cent from the US.
Germany, and the whole of Europe, are struggling with the Russian sanctions. The European Union is reportedly poised to ban Russian coal in the first sanctions on the vital energy industry over the war in Ukraine, but it has underlined the 27 nations' inability to agree on a much more sweeping embargo on oil and natural gas that would hit Russia harder but risk recession at home. The coal ban, which is expected to be approved in a new package of sanctions this week, would cost Russia $4 billion a year, said the European Commission, the EU's executive arm. Energy analysts and coal importers say Europe could replace Russian supply in a few months from other countries, including the US.
The coal ban is significant because it breaks the taboo on severing energy ties with Russia. But compared with natural gas and oil, coal is by far the easiest to cut off quickly and inflicts far less financial damage on Russian President Vladimir Putin's war chest. Europe sends 20 million euros a day to Russia for coal but 850 million a day for oil and gas.
EU countries, especially big economies like Italy and Germany, rely heavily on Russian natural gas to heat and cool homes, generate electricity and keep industry churning.
Germany's coal importer's association said Russian coal could be completely replaced from the US, South Africa, Colombia, Mozambique and Indonesia by next winter at higher prices. European coal futures prices jumped after the EU's announcement, from around $255 per ton to $290 per ton. The big debate remains around oil and natural gas, with the European Union dependent on Russia for 40 per cent of its gas and 25 per cent of its oil. It is tougher for Europe to cut off than the US, which imported little Russian oil and no gas and has banned both.
Agreeing on energy sanctions among the 27 EU nations is made more difficult because some like Germany, Italy and Bulgaria are much more dependent on Russian gas in particular than others. Europe has scrambled to get what additional gas it can through pipelines from Norway and Algeria and acquiring more liquefied gas shipments by ship, but those global supplies are limited.