German Ambassador to India Philipp Ackermann on Sunday said the country would not blame the Indian government for buying crude oil from Russia if it can take a clear stand on international laws that must be adhered to, reported PTI.

In an interview with the news agency, the envoy said that the global energy crisis triggered by the Ukraine war calls for the formation of an international network of like-minded countries and Germany counts India in this group.

“I will not blame the Indian side for buying energy from the Russians,” Ackermann said. “What we expect is the clear positioning saying that we must adhere to international law.”

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, Western countries have tried to curb Moscow’s revenues from oil exports to limit financial flows supporting the war.

However, India has continued to import crude oil from Russia.

New Delhi has also increased its oil imports from Moscow significantly after the conflict started. Earlier this month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that India’s crude oil shipments from Russia have risen to 12% from about 2% in February.

On diplomatic front, India last week abstained from voting on a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly to criticise Russia’s annexation of the Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia regions of Ukraine and the referendums held there.

Ackermann said on Sunday that Germany has noted a shift in India’s position on the war despite some disagreements. “I would say that in the last couple of months if you read carefully the Indian statements on the matter, you will see a certain shift in the Indian position,” the German ambassador told PTI.

He also pointed out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for peace to Russian President Vladimir Putin last month had resonated with the Western countries.

In recent weeks, Russia has intensified its attacks on power stations, water supply systems and other key infrastructure across Ukraine through drones and missiles.

On October 11, India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that targeting infrastructure and causing civilian deaths in any part of the world is not acceptable.