Jaishankar Defends India's Oil Policy, Slams Europe's Double Standards

Addressing the Kultaranta Talks at Finland on 'Emerging Powers and the New Geopolitical Competition', Jaishankar rebutted a journalist who said India was "too sympathetic to Russia" and "too willing to buy oil from Russia".

India Buys Oil on Cost and Supply

Explaining India's stand, he said energy decisions are based on cost and supply realities.

"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 said.

Jaishankar Raises Concerns Over Arms Sales

He has also highlighted Europe's inconsistency with regard to India's security concerns and emphasized that it was arm exports to the region which undermined India's security for long.

“No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say that for Europe weapons vis-a-vis India," Jaishankar said.

"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," he added.

US Encouraged India to Buy Russian Oil

Jaishankar highlighted that in 2022, even the US was conscious of the essential part that India played in balancing the global economy. He reiterated that the US had encouraged New Delhi to purchase crude oil from Russia to stabilize the energy markets and prevent an inflationary meltdown.

“At that time, the US directly asked India to buy Russian oil to stabilize the oil market. We buy oil based on cost and availability," he said.

“People should also remember that, at that time, the United States specifically asked India to buy Russian oil to help stabilize global markets. After first imposing tariffs on us last year for buying Russian oil, the US then lifted its sanctions on Russian oil. Let’s not pretend there is some great principle involved here,” Jaishankar added.

Energy Security Remains India's Priority

The Union Minister asserted that India's energy decisions are based on its self-interest and energy security needs and reiterated that Russia is currently the largest supplier of oil to India whereas the United States is its largest supplier of natural gas.

India has consistently justified its imports of discounted Russian crude on the grounds of energy security and affordable prices despite Western sanctions on Russia.