Amidst the US decision to impose 25 percent of additional tariffs on Indian goods for the purchase of Russian oil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that China is not India, the largest buyer of Russian oil and the European Union, the largest buyer of LNG and is the argument to sing the country for secondary tariffs in perplexing.
Responding to questions during a joint press briefing with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavarov in Moscow, Jaishankar said that India also buys oil from America, and this amount has increased.
“We are not the largest buyers of Russian oil, it is China. We are not the biggest buyers of LNG, it is the European Union. We are not the country that has the biggest business bounce with Russia after 2022; I think I think there are some countries in the south. We do everything for the last few years, in which we should buy everything. The amount has increased. The amount has increased.
US President Donald Trump announced a 25 percent tariff on Indian goods in July, even an interim Indo-US trade deal expectations that otherwise helped avoid high tariffs. A few days later, he imposed another 25 percent tariff, with a total time of up to 50 percent, which cited India’s continuous import of Russian oil.
Jaishankar said that it is also important to maintain energy cooperation with Russia through trade and investment.
He emphasized the need to address business imbalance. “We confirmed our shared ambition to expand India’s exports to Russia, to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and durable manner. This requires rapid addressing non-tariff barriers and regulatory barriers, which will help Russia definitely correct anxiety in increasing India’s exports in areas such as agriculture, pharma, and textiles.”
Jaishankar and Lavarov discussed development in Ukraine and West Asia, in which the Foreign Minister emphasized dialogue and diplomacy in solving struggles.
“On regional issues, we discussed the development in Ukraine, West Asia, Middle East and Afghanistan. India’s approach to resolve differences and continues to emphasize dialogue and diplomacy.”
Jaishankar said that defense and military cooperation is strong and Russia supports Make in India.
“Our defense and military technical cooperation also remains strong. Russia supports India’s ‘Make in India’ goals including joint production and technology transfer.”
The Foreign Minister said that he raised the issue of Indians serving in the Russian Army.
“While many have been released, there are still some pending cases with some missing persons. We hope the Russian side will resolve rapidly,” he said.
Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Russia, during which he addressed the 26th session of India-Russia Inter-Government Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TeC) and addressed the meeting of the Indo-Russia Business Forum in Moscow. (AI)
