Moscow: India is “very perplexed” at the logic of the US argument in imposing an additional 25% tariff for buying oil from Russia.
“We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG, that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the south,” External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said during a joint press briefing in Moscow on Thursday, after his meeting Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.
The US has said extra sanctions were imposed on India to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
However, the US is yet to levy similar duties on China for its Russian oil imports. The Donald Trump administration justified that by saying India, unlike China, increased its Russian import hugely after the war and has been “profiteering by reselling” the oil.
Jaishankar countered that logic on Thursday.
“We are a country where the Americans have said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from the US, and that amount has increased. So honestly, we are very perplexed at the logic of the argument that you (the media) had referred to.”
Jaishankar’s meeting with Lavrov is seen to be hugely significant in the wake of US ‘penalising’ India for its trade with Russia.
Jaishankar stressed that India and Russia have been “the steadiest of the major relationships” in the world after World War 2. He stressed that “sustaining energy cooperation through trade and investments” with Russia is important to India.
“Our defence and military technical cooperation also remains robust. Russia supports India’s ‘Make in India’ goals, including joint production and technology transfer,” Jaishankar said.
On deliberations with Lavrov, Jaishankar said, “We reaffirmed our shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India’s exports to Russia… Enhancing India’s exports to Russia in sectors like agriculture, pharma, and textiles will certainly help correct the imbalance.”
