In a hard-hitting and suave response to a question posed by an American journalist, Indian Minister of External Affairs said that India’s total purchase of oil from Russia in a month is probably less than what Europe does in an afternoon.
India’s Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh are currently in the USA to participate in the fourth India-USA 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue.
US President Joe Biden also held a virtual meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi where the two discussed the Russia-Ukraine situation.
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh addressed a press after the 2+2 meeting with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.
An American journalist posed a question to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying that there reports of Delhi and Moscow engaging in a currency exchange mechanism for future oil purchases.
“Did you tell Secretary [Minister] Jaishankar that these could risk violation of not just current sanctions but also risks violating CAATSA?”, the lady journalist asked.
After Blinken’s response, Minister Jaishankar said that India has made a number of statements on the Russia-Ukraine war in the United Nations, the Indian Parliament, and in other forums.
“And briefly, what those positions state is that we are against the conflict. We are for dialogue and diplomacy. We are for urgent cessation of violence, and we are prepared to contribute in whatever way to these objectives,” he said.
“If you’re looking at (India’s) energy purchases from Russia, I’d suggest your attention should be on Europe. We buy some energy necessary for our energy security. But I suspect, looking at figures, our purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon,” Jaishankar said.
“Our purchases (of Russian oil) for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon.”
In case you missed @DrSJaishankar burying an American journalist in that gentle way only he can. pic.twitter.com/UpCKXdNgKa
— Shiv Aroor (@ShivAroor) April 12, 2022
The White House too came in India’s defence on the issue of oil purchase noting that its total purchase is less than one and two per cent as against 10 per cent from the United States.
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