On Tuesday Russian Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandr Novak stated that India and China have been increasing their imports of Russian oil and petroleum products, as Russia has continued to shift its exports toward what it refers to as “friendly countries.”

At a meeting of Russia’s Energy Ministry, Novak was quoted as saying, “Most of our energy resources were redirected to the markets of friendly countries. For example, oil supplies to India increased 22 times last year. Supplies to China and other markets have been also on the rise, and this is the result of that great work that has been done in the industry.”

Russia now supplies 35% of the total oil imported by India, as compared to the less than 1% it supplied in 2021. As the bilateral trade between the two countries has soared, energy has been behind a large part of the surge.

India, which is the third-largest crude importer in the world, began to increase imports of Russian oil just after the beginning of Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine, and the resulting Western sanctions. The sanctions shut off Russia’s ability to sell its energy to its traditional buyers in the West, forcing the Kremlin to look for alternative markets, and boost sales by discounting its products.

India, which has made clear its top priority is energy security, chose not to abide by the Western sanctions, and continued to purchase Russian fuels, even after the EU imposed an embargo on Russian seaborne oil, and the G7 nations imposed a price cap on all Russian seaborne crude, late last year.

Russia’s overall oil exports have risen by 7.6% to 242.2 million tons in 2022, and crude production has risen by 2% to 535.1 million tons, according to the Russian Energy Ministry.