India Keeps Oil Trade With Venezuela

India continues to trade with Venezuela—a key crude oil supplier to the Asian nation where oil demand is growing fast—despite the ongoing crisis in Venezuela, India’s Financial Express reports.
Venezuela’s opposition leader Juan Guaido, the president of the national assembly, declared himself interim president on Wednesday, and the United States supported him against Nicolas Maduro, whom the US administration declared an “usurper” with no legitimacy to the presidency, Oil Price reported.
India continues to be one of the main buyers of Venezuelan crude oil, diplomatic sources told the Express. Indian refiners keep buying more than 400,000 bpd of oil from the troubled Latin American country, which is sitting on the world’s largest crude oil resources.
In recent months, Venezuela has been the fourth largest supplier of crude oil to India, after Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
According to the Express, India imported crude oil from Venezuela worth $5.8 billion in the 2017-2018 financial year, while imports between April and October 2018 were valued at $4.6 billion. 
Amid the ongoing political crisis in Venezuela, India is staying away from recognizing the Venezuelan opposition leader as president.
“We believe democracy, peace and security in Venezuela are of paramount importance for the progress and prosperity of the people of Venezuela. India and Venezuela enjoy close and cordial relations,” India’s Foreign Ministry said.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a telephone conversation with Nicolas Maduro, backing him as the official president of Venezuela.