By Dharmesh Prajapati
External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Friday (local time) defended India’s purchase of Russian oil, while highlighting what he called a contradiction in European criticism of New Delhi’s energy policy.
While speaking during a discussion on “Emerging Powers and the New Geopolitical Competition” at the Kultaranta Talks in Finland, the Union Minister was asked about India’s stance and if India was “too sympathetic to Russia” and “too willing to buy oil from Russia”
In response, he explained the “moral ambiguity” of purchasing Russian oil, and said that Europe had sold weapons that were later used against India, while no Indian weapon has ever been used to attack an European country.
“No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say that for Europe weapons vis-a-vis India,” Jaishankar said during a discussion on emerging geopolitical competition.
When asked to elaborate, he reiterated India’s long-standing concerns over Western arms supplies in the region.
“Europe sells weapons, which are used to attack India. Not just now but for many years. We Indians have never done anything to endanger Europe. I think that’s a reasonable point,” he said.
Jaishankar further articulated India’s pragmatic approach to safeguarding its national interests. He said that India buys oil based on cost and availability. He noted that Russian crude became an attractive option in 2022 as European countries increased purchases from India’s traditional suppliers in the Middle East.
“I buy oil based on cost and availability. So at that point of time, much of the oil available in the market was Russian because Europeans were essentially buying oil from the Middle East, which was our traditional supplier. So circumstances pushed us in a certain direction,” Jaishankar stated.
Jaishankar also said the United States had encouraged India to buy Russian oil at the time to help stabilise global energy markets and prevent a sharp rise in oil prices.
“At that time, the US directly asked India to buy Russian oil to stabilise the oil market. We buy oil based on cost and availability,” he said.