New Delhi: Has India actually stopped buying Russian oil, especially after Donald Trump announced the trade deal and removed the additional 25% tariffs?
Well, the Trump administration is still claiming that India has committed to stop buying oil from Russia in return for a tariff cut and trade deal.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeated that assertion at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday.
However, S Jaishankar avoided a direct answer at the same conference, in a different session.
At a time when the Congress and other Opposition parties are accusing the Narendra Modi government of “selling out under pressure”, India’s External Affairs Minister said that India is “wedded to strategic autonomy.”
On February 2, Trump announced the trade deal framework, which PM Modi also confirmed. Finer details of the India-US trade deal are in the process of being worked out.
Trump has already removed the 25% tariff penalty which was imposed last year for purchasing Russian oil and ‘financing’ the war in Ukraine, as claimed by the US.
The US President’s Executive Order stated that New Delhi has agreed to not buy Russian oil anymore, but India has neither confirmed nor denied it.
On February 14, Rubio did repeat the Russia assertion. However, he uttered one word which could mean a caveat for now — “additional”.
Speaking about American sanctions on Russia as EU nations press for the US to take steps to stop the Ukraine war, Rubi said: “In our conversations with India, we’ve gotten their commitment to stop buying additional Russian oil.”
“Additional” is being interpreted as current orders under process will not be affected.
But a clarity on the issue is still awaited.
Jaishankar, in his session with German minister Johann Wadephul, did not confirm Rubio’s claim.
He saif once again that India’s energy policy is dictated by market dynamics.
“Where the energy issues are concerned, this is today a complex market, oil companies in India — as in Europe, as probably in other parts of the world — look at availability, cost and risks, and take the decisions that they feel is in their best interests,” Jaishankar said.
On whether the US trade deal impacted India’s independent decision-making, Jaishankar said, “We are very much wedded to strategic autonomy, because it’s very much a part of our history and our evolution.”
In a telling comment, he added that India retains the option to make choices which may not be in line with Western thinking.
Russia has said it has not heard about the “stop oil” condition from India yet.
