External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday strongly defended India’s energy decisions amid criticism over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian crude oil, while highlighting what he described as contradictions in Europe’s position on India’s security concerns.
Speaking at the Kultaranta Talks in Finland during a session on ‘Emerging Powers and the New Geopolitical Competition’, Jaishankar responded to a journalist who suggested India had been “too sympathetic to Russia” and “too willing to buy oil from Russia”.
Explaining India’s position, Jaishankar underscored that energy decisions were guided by affordability 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 stated.
The minister also pushed back against criticism from Europe, pointing to India’s long-standing security concerns over arms supplied to the region.
"No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say that for Europe weapons vis-a-vis India," he remarked.
Asked to elaborate, Jaishankar sharpened argued that European arms exports had affected India’s security interests for decades.
"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 sovereign decision-making, Jaishankar also recalled the geopolitical and economic context following the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022.
According to the minister, the United States had recognised India’s role in stabilising global energy markets during a period of intense disruption triggered by sanctions on Moscow.
"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 maintained during his address in Finland.
Jaishankar further questioned the inconsistencies in Western sanctions and cautioned against applying selective moral standards to complex issues of trade, energy security and geopolitics.
(With inputs from ANI)
