India warns against 'double standards' on Russia trade

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday (July 17) responded to North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) chief Mark Rutte's warning on the prospect of India facing US sanctions over its trade with Russia and cautioned against “double standards” on the matter.

Securing energy needs

Speaking to reporters at the weekly media briefing in Delhi, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that they had seen reports on the issue and were closely following the developments. He also said that securing the energy needs of the people was the “overriding priority” for India.

He also said that New Delhi was guided by what is available in the markets and the prevailing global circumstances. “We would like to particularly caution against any double standards on the issue,” said Jaiswal.

Also Read: NATO warns India, China, Brazil of 100 pc sanctions over Russia trade

NATO chief’s warning

The MEA’s reactions come a day after Rutte warned countries like India, China and Brazil could be sanctioned by the US over their trade with Russia. Earlier, US President Donald Trump had threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on any country buying Russian exports unless there is a truce between Russia and Ukraine in 50 days.

Speaking to reporters, Rutt cautioned the authorities in India, China and Brazil that their countries might get hit very hard. He also urged the leaders of these countries to reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin and urge him to get “serious about peace talks”, adding that otherwise US sanctions will hit India, China and Brazil in a “massive way.”

Europe biggest buyer of Russian gas

The MEA’s caution against “double standards” with regard to trade with Russia seems to have come from the fact that European and NATO members continue to be the biggest buyers of oil from Russia.

The European Union has been the largest buyer of Russian liquefied natural gas and pipeline gas since 2022, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.

Also Read: Trump warns Russia of 'severe tariffs' if there is no deal on Ukraine in 50 days

What Hardeep Singh Puri said

Earlier in the day, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had said India had access to “alternative sources” if Russian oil supplies were hit by sanctions.

“I'm not worried at all. If something happens, we'll deal with it. India has diversified the sources of supply, and we have gone, I think, from about 27 countries that we used to buy from to about 40 countries now," said Puri as quoted by Reuters.