Jaishankar rebuts Trump, says China is Russia's top oil buyer
The ministers discussed bilateral relations and the evolving geopolitical situation as India faces rising US tensions over trade and Russian oil imports
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday (August 21) during his visit to Moscow issued a strong rebuttal to US President Donald Trump’s claim that India was buying a huge amount of oil from Russia resulting in 25 per cent retaliatory tariff Jaishankar following meeting with his Russian counterpart Sergey Larov, said that India was not the biggest purchaser of Russian oil instead its China.
China is biggest buyer of Russian oil
“We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil; that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG; that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South,” said Jaishankar as quoted by ANI.
Jaishankar said that in the last few years, the US have told India that it should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia, adding that India also buys oil from the US.
“We are a country where the Americans have said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from the US, and that amount has increased. So honestly, we are very perplexed at the logic of the argument that you (the media) had referred to,” he added.
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Indo-Russia shared goal
Earlier, Jaishankar told Larov that amid a shifting economic and trade landscape, India and Russia have a shared goal of maximising their complementarity.
His comments come at a time when the ties between India and the US have become strained with US President Donald Trump’s decision to slap 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on India, which, along with the 25 per cent reciprocal tariffs imposed earlier, has taken the total US tariff rates on Indian goods to 50 per cent.
“The global context of our meeting today is provided by the evolving geopolitical situation. The shifting economic and trade landscape and our shared goal is to maximise our complementarity. Today, I am very confident that our exchange of views will be very fruitful and productive and would certainly contribute to making the annual summit very outcome-oriented,” Jaishankar.
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New Delhi, Moscow in continuous touch
Pointing out that leaders of both countries have met multiple times during the year on the sidelines of multilateral events, Jaishankar said that the meetings have ensured that New Delhi and Moscow stay in continuous touch.
“We have been meeting regularly on the sidelines of multilateral events, most recently at the BRICS summit, the SCO Foreign Ministers Summit. I think these regular meetings have helped us to be in continuous touch, which is important at a time when international relations are changing so much,” he said.
“Today’s meeting gives us an occasion to discuss our political relationship, but also to review our bilateral ties. So I look forward to an exchange of views on politics, trade, economic investments and defence, science and technology and of course people to people-to-people exchanges,” he said.
“Our leaders met in July for the 22nd Annual Summit last year and thereafter in Kazan. And we now prepare for the annual summit at the end of the year. They have always given us guidance to take forward our special and privileged strategic partnership,” he added.
“What I want to do to take those discussions forward so that we have maximum outcome for the annual summit. From our side, when had quite a busy calendar. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval was here. Before that, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav was here,” said the Minister.