Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov praised Dr. Jaishankar.document

New Delhi:

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar received praise from his Russian counterpart for asking the West to “mind its own business” when he questioned India’s purchase of Russian oil after the war in Ukraine began.

🇮🇳🇷🇺 Russian FM recalls the words of “friend” Jaishankar, who advised Europeans to look at themselves before lecturing others

🗯 “My friend, External Affairs Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar, once gave a speech at the United Nations. He was asked why he started buying so much oil from Russia. He… pic.twitter.com/nD4C0YHMDj

— Sputnik India (@Sputnik_India) March 4, 2024

In a video shared by Sputnik, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivered a speech at the World Youth Forum in Sochi. “My friend, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, once gave a speech at the United Nations. He was asked why he had started buying so much oil from Russia. He advised them to mind their own business while reminding them how much oil the West had started and continued to buy from Russia. The federation buys oil. This is national dignity,” Lavrov said in Russian.

After the war in Ukraine broke out, most Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and stopped buying Russian crude oil. However, India refused to cooperate. Elaborating on New Delhi’s stance at international forums, Dr Jaishankar stressed that Indian citizens cannot afford high energy prices and the Narendra Modi government is only trying to get the best deal for its citizens.

The foreign minister also criticized Europe’s “double standards” and said there was a need to move away from the mentality that Europe’s problems are the world’s problems, but the world’s problems are not Europe’s problems.

Recently, Dr Jaishankar was asked about India’s continued purchases of Russian oil at a security conference in Munich. He was asked whether this would become an issue in its relations with other major allies.

With US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock by his side, Dr Jaishankar replied: “Why is this a problem? I’m smart enough to have options. You should admire rather than criticize. This is A question?” Anyone else? I do not think so. “

India’s foreign minister said India’s position on the war in Ukraine was “very clear and very public”. “The Indian position, as articulated by my prime minister, is that this is not an era of war, dialogue and diplomacy are the answer,” he said.

The Modi government’s stance had also earlier drawn praise from Moscow. In January, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow “can rely on India and its leadership because it is guaranteed that New Delhi will not play ‘games’ with them on the international stage.”

“India pursues an independent foreign policy, which is not easy in today’s world. But India with a population of 1.5 billion has the right to do so. And under the leadership of the Prime Minister, this right is being realized.” This is not just a statement, It is important from the perspective of organizing joint work because it gives us the opportunity to predict the medium- and long-term actions of our partners,” Putin said.