Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday heaped praises on his 'friend' - his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar, commending his advice to tell the West to "mind their own business" on the topic of India importing Russian oil. Lavrov praised Jaishankar's defence of India importing Russian oil supplies as "national dignity" while addressing the World Youth Forum in Sochi.
In an interview with a German newspaper last month, the External Affairs Minister said Russia has never hurt India's interests and both countries have always shared stable and friendly relations. Since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, India increased its oil purchases from Russia despite global sanctions.
"My friend, Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar, was once at the UN, giving a speech. He was asked why they started buying so much oil from Russia. He advised them to mind their own business and reminded them at the same time how much oil the West had started buying and continued to buy oil from the Russian Federation. This is national dignity, " Lavrov said at the World Youth Forum, reported Sputnik.
Speaking on tensions with the West, Lavrov said, "The West will never dominate again, it is necessary to look for new forms of interaction, but the West is trying in every possible way to hamper the process of multipolarity." He said Moscow is always willing to engage in dialogue, especially when it is offered sincerely and on a basis of equality.
What did Jaishankar say about Russian oil imports?
Jaishankar elaborated on India-Russia relations, saying, "Just as I do not expect Europe to have a view of China that is identical to mine, Europe should understand that I cannot have a view of Russia that is identical to the European one. Let us accept that there are natural differences in relationships". He highlighted that European countries shifted their energy procurement to the Middle East, which was then the main supplier of India, when the Ukraine conflict broke out.
"What should we have done? In many cases, our Middle East suppliers gave priority to Europe because Europe paid higher prices. Either we would have had no energy because everything would have gone to them. Or we would have ended up paying a lot more because you were paying more. And in a certain way, we stabilised the energy market that way," he added, reiterating his previous stance.
While addressing the Munich Security Conference beside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Jaishankar gave a no-nonsense reply to India's continued trade with Russia, saying, "Is that a problem, why should that be a problem? If I am smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me.” Blinken who was sitting next to him broke into a smile.
At the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, Jaishankar asserted that it was important for Asian and other countries to engage with Russia, which has faced several sanctions from Western countries. "It makes sense to give Russia multiple options. If we railroad Russia into a single option and say, you know, that's really bad because that's the outcome, then you are making it a kind of a self-fulfilling prophecy," Jaishankar said.
(with inputs from agencies)
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