‘You Shouldn’t Be Criticising Me’, Says Jaishankar On India Buying Russian Oil
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar once again defended India’s decision to purchase Russian oil while Moscow continues to attack Kyiv and said countries have ‘different relationships, different histories’
India-Russia: External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has said the world, particularly the West, should not criticise New Delhi for buying oil from Moscow even as the war between Russia and Ukraine will be entering its third year and that the countries opposed to such a move should be ‘admiring’ him for being ‘smart enough to have multiple options’. The Minister said this at a session at the ongoing Munich Security Conference, which was also attended by US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock.
India has been procuring crude oil from Russia ever since Moscow launched its attack on Ukraine in February 2022. Moscow is currently India’s leading source of crude, accounting for nearly 36 per cent of its oil imports.
“If I’m smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me, you shouldn’t be criticizing me … Now, is that a problem for other people? I don’t think so. I don’t think so, certainly in this case and in that case. Because, look, we try to explain what are the different pulls and pressures which countries have. And it’s very hard to have a unidimensional relationship. Now, again, different countries and different relationships have different histories,” said Jaishankar as Blinken and Baerbock looked on.
The External Affairs Minister also said, “We get along with people. We believe in things, we share things, we agree on some things. But there are times when you’re located in different places, have different levels of development, different experiences – all of that gets into it. So life is complicated. Life is differentiated. And I think it’s very important today not to reduce the entire complexity of our world into very sweeping propositions. I think that era is today behind us.”
Defending the government’s move to buy oil from Russia, which has been hit by western sanctions, Jaishankar said the step has not impacted India’s relationship with the US.
This remarks by the External Affairs Minister comes at a time when the world has once again shifted its focus on Russia and its President Vladimir Putin over the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. US President Joe Biden has blamed President Putin for Navalny’s death under mysterious circumstances in an Arctic jail.
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‘Israel Should Have Been Very Mindful Of Civilian Casualties’
On the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Jaishankar said the Benjamin Netanyahu government should have assessed the civilian casualties that will take place as a result of the assault launched by Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) in Gaza.
“Number one, we must be clear that what happened on October 7th was terrorism. No caveats, no justification, no explanation. It was terrorism. Number two, as Israel responds, it is important that Israel should be – should have been very mindful of civilian casualties, that it has an obligation to observe international humanitarian law. Number three, the return of hostages is today imperative,” said Jaishankar.
He added, “Number four, there is a need for a humanitarian corridor, a sustainable humanitarian corridor to provide relief. And eventually, there has to be a permanent fix, a long-term fix, otherwise we’re going to see a recurrence.”
Israel launched its military assault on Gaza on October 7 last year after Hamas killed 1200 Israelis and kidnapped 253 in a surprise attack. In a retaliatory action, the IDF attacked Gaza resulting in the death of over 28,000 civilian Palestinians while 1.5 million have been rendered homeless.
“India has long believed in a two-state solution; we have maintained that position for many decades. And I think today, many more countries in the world today feel not just that a two-state solution is necessary, but it is more urgent than it was before,” said Jaishankar.
On the sidelines of the MSC, Jaishankar met his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki and Sunday and discussed the situation in Gaza. Qatar is mediating ceasefire talks between Israel and Palestine.
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