India has initiated talks with Russia regarding discounted long-term oil contracts after rising fuel prices have hit the Indian economy hard, reports Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

Negotiations are taking place on government level, confirm Indian Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Housing & Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri in a parliamentary report.

India is one of the world's largest oil importers, and while Russia has historically supplied merely 1-2 percent of the South Asian country's consolidated import, that percentage now stands to rise after Russia has reportedly offered crude discounted by up to 30 percent relative to global market prices.

According to the media, there are, however, a range of political issues needing resolution before a actual agreement can be settled. Among other things, concerns relating to transportation, insurance and financing must be worked out, just as the Indian state will have diplomatic problems to face for cooperating with Russia after the US has pressured New Delhi to distance itself from Moscow.

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