External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar criticised disruptions to global oil supplies through sanctions and chokepoints, saying deliberate attacks on energy trade and infrastructure were a calculated attempt to hold prices hostage.
Jaishankar’s remarks at the G20 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Atlanta on Friday came amid American sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil and disruption to energy supplies from West Asia and the decision to lift sanctions on the sale of Russian diesel.
The minister said that the world was staring at an energy crisis not of production, but of unpredictability and disruption, unaffordable costs, and challenges of access.
Jaishankar, in a post on X, said he highlighted that deliberate attacks on energy trade and infrastructure were a calculated strategy to hold energy prices hostage.
“The G20 must display both understanding and leadership to keep energy markets open and predictable,” he said at the meeting convened by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The minister emphasised that continuous distortions of energy markets through obstacles, sanctions and chokepoints were happening with increasing frequency, greater complexity and wider impact.
Jaishankar said he underscored that there appears to be little regard for the predicament of low-income countries.
The minister said that convenient distinctions are being drawn between oil and gas. “Selective carve-outs speak for themselves,” he said.
Jaishankar said he reiterated that the knock-on effects and mutual dependence in a globalised market should not be underestimated.
He reaffirmed that India needs reliable and predictable LPG supplies for its clean cooking needs.
Jaishankar reiterated that India’s National Mission on critical minerals spans exploration to recycling. He also said India has proposed a G20 Critical Minerals Circularity Initiative.
The minister said the G20 must widen access to finance and advance storage, small modular reactors, green hydrogen and biofuels.
(With inputs from PTI)