We benefited from our ties with Russia and would keep importing oil, says Jaishankar

Tuesday, India's foreign minister S. Jaishankar firmly defended the country's rising oil purchases from Russia, claiming that the country has benefited from its energy relations with Moscow and that it is in India's best interests to maintain the imports. After speaking with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, when asked about Western pressure on India to cut off trade with Russia, Jaishankar responded that India's "fundamental obligation" is to make sure that Indian consumers have the best possible access to international markets on the most favourable terms. 

The minister affirmed that India will support any move on the Ukraine issue to de-risk the world economy and stabilise the global order while underlining Prime Minister Narendra Modi's claim that this is not a time for war. Prior to the military crisis in Ukraine, Russia supplied 0.2 percent of India's crude imports; last month, that percentage increased to 22 percent, making Russia India's top supplier. "The energy markets are under pressure. We have a fundamental responsibility to make sure that Indian consumers have the best possible access, on the most favourable terms, to foreign markets as the third largest consumer of oil and gas in the world—a customer with a relatively low level of income. 

Sincerely, we can say that the friendship between India and Russia has benefited us in that regard. Jaishankar stressed the importance of India's "time-tested" relationship with Russia during his meeting with Lavrov in Moscow, saying, "If it works to my advantage, I would like to keep that going."

Jaishankar's comments also came ahead of Janet Yellen, the US Treasury Secretary, who is expected to visit India later this week and ask for support for a price ceiling on Russian oil. Despite the fact that India already purchases oil at a discount from Russia, Yellen was cited as stating on Tuesday that India will gain from US attempts to "keep down the price." 

India hasn't yet indicated that it agrees with the suggested cap. Lavrov stated that Russia will work to increase its energy exports to India and that there are promising opportunities for energy cooperation, including the export of hydrocarbons to India. The two sides also explored collaborative manufacture of advanced weaponry and methods for settling trade payments in national currencies. Regarding his discussions with Lavrov regarding the Ukraine, Jaishankar stated that the Global South was suffering greatly and that there was simply too much interdependence for "a substantial conflict somewhere, not to have major consequences elsewhere." He restated India's stance that it is in favour of peace, respect for international law, and support for the UN Charter while urging for a return to dialogue and diplomacy.  

"India will be as helpful as we can be in regards to specific measures pertaining to difficulties like food grain and fertiliser shipments, or any other difficulty for that matter. Indeed, I would assert that India will support any move that, at this point, de-risks the world economy and stabilises the global order.

Jaishankar said India was concerned about the trade imbalance despite acknowledging the tremendous improvement and the fact that relations are on track for a $ 30 billion annual trade volume. I have discussed with the Russian side how to remove obstacles that prevent increased Indian exports, he said. Jaishankar said India was concerned about the trade imbalance despite acknowledging the tremendous improvement and the fact that relations are on track for a $ 30 billion annual trade volume. I have discussed with the Russian side how to remove obstacles that prevent increased Indian exports, he said. "By September, trade turnover grew by 130% compared to the same period last year and reached $17 billion," Lavrov was reported as saying.