NEW DELHI: External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday pushed back against European criticism of India’s Russia policy, saying weapons sold by European countries had been used against India for years even as they questioned New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil. Defending India’s energy choices, he also revealed that the United States had encouraged India to buy Russian crude in 2022 to help stabilise global oil markets after sanctions were imposed on Moscow.Speaking at the Kultaranta Talks in Finland during a discussion on “Emerging Powers and the New Geopolitical Competition”, Jaishankar responded to a question suggesting India had been “too sympathetic to Russia” and overly dependent on Russian oil since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict. “No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say that for Europe weapons vis-a-vis India,” Jaishankar said.When asked to elaborate, the minister pointed to India’s longstanding security concerns over European arms exports.”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,” Jaishankar emphasised. Defending India’s energy choices, Jaishankar said New Delhi’s purchases were driven by economic considerations rather than geopolitics and noted that changing market dynamics after the Ukraine war left Russian crude among the most accessible options.The minister also disclosed that Washington had itself asked India to continue buying Russian oil to prevent disruptions in global energy markets.”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,” Jaishankar said.Explaining India’s position further, he added: “I’ll make two observations. 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 also questioned what he described as inconsistencies in Western approaches towards sanctions, trade and energy security, arguing against applying selective standards to complex geopolitical issues.His remarks come amid continuing scrutiny from some Western nations over India’s relationship with Russia. New Delhi has consistently maintained that its foreign policy and energy decisions are guided by national interest, energy security and economic considerations.(With inputs from ANI)
