Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov have showered praises upon Indian counterpart Dr S Jaishankar for asking the West “to mind their own business” when it questioned Bharat’s procurement of oil after the Ukraine war commenced and termed it as “national dignity”.
Lavrov, who was addressing the World Youth Forum in Sochi, recalled and narrated the past incident where Jaishankar was asked about reasons for buying “so much oil from Russia” during a speech at the United Nations.
“He advised them to mind their own business and reminded them at the same time how much oil the West had started buying and continued to buy oil from the Russian Federation. This is national dignity,” said Lavrov in Russian in a video by the country’s news agency Sputnik.
Russia faced sanctions by most of the Western nations after its conflict with Ukraine began and they stopped procuring crude Russian oil. Dr Jaishankar made clear New Delhi’s stance on global forums as Bharat declined to follow the West. He highlighted the Narendra Modi Government’s attempt to get the best deal possible for its citizens, who cannot afford high energy prices.
Dr Jaishankar had pointed out towards Europe’s “double standards” and had asked it to grow out of the mindset that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems.
The Indian leader, more recently, was asked about Bharat’s continuous buying of Russian oil in Munich’s security conference. He was questioned about its impact on the relationship with other significant allies.
In presence of US State Secretary Antony Blinken and German Counterpart Annalena Baerbock, Dr Jaishankar replied, “Why should it be a problem? I am smart enough to have multiple options. You should be admiring and not criticising. Is it a problem for others? I do not think so.”
The External Affairs Minister said, “The Indian position articulated by the Prime Minister is that this is not an era of war and that dialogue and diplomacy is the answer.”
In January, Russia President Vladimir Putin said Moscow “can rely on Bharat and its leadership because it is assured that New Delhi won’t play games against them on the international stage”.
“Bharat is pursuing an independent foreign policy, which is not easy in today’s world. But Bharat, with a population of 1.5 billion, has the right to do so. And under the leadership of the Prime Minister, that right is being realised. This is not just a statement, it is important from the point of organising joint work because it gives us the opportunity to forecast the actions of our partners in medium and long terms,” added Putin.
