India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar has given a befitting reply by going to Europe regarding buying oil from Russia. Many countries have been continuously criticizing India for buying oil from Russia. In such a situation, on a question related to buying oil from Russia in Europe, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar made a sharp attack on the European countries and said that these countries sell to India’s enemies which are used to attack us. This is not happening from today, but has been happening for many years. But we Indians have never done anything to endanger Europe. So I think it’s a fair point. External Affairs Minister Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Europe, said at an event in Finland, “European countries sell weapons to such countries which are used to attack India. All this is being done not just now but for many years. But we Indians have never done anything to put Europe in danger.
Jaishankar’s statement in Finland
External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said this while participating in a panel discussion on ‘Kultaranta Talks’ with Finland’s Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and UAE’s Assistant Foreign Minister Lana Nussibeh. According to the report of news agency ANI, during the discussion, a journalist asked the Foreign Minister that India is very sympathetic towards Russia and is very keen to buy oil from Russia, to this Jaishankar replied sternly by mentioning two important things and emphasized on India’s practical approach to protect its national interests and ensure energy security.
“Our weapons did not attack Europe.”
Jaishankar said in his reply, “I would like to say two things. I buy oil on the basis of price and availability. At that time, most of the oil available in the market was from Russia because European countries were mainly buying oil from the Middle East, which was also our traditional supplier. So the situation forced us to move in a particular direction.” He also pointed to Europe’s historical and moral inconsistencies in matters related to India’s security. The Foreign Minister said, “No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say the same for India in the case of European weapons.”
When the External Affairs Minister was asked to elaborate on this, Jaishankar reiterated India’s old concerns regarding the supply of arms by western countries in the region. The Foreign Minister said, “Europe sells weapons, which are also used to attack India. This is not just for now, but it has been happening for many years. We Indians have never done anything to put Europe in danger. I think this is a reasonable thing.”
Jaishankar’s taunt on America
Referring to the events of the year 2022, Jaishankar said that America had also recognized India’s role in bringing stability in the global energy market after the Western countries’ sanctions on Moscow. According to the External Affairs Minister, to control global inflation and prevent a major disruption in oil supply, Washington had encouraged New Delhi to continue buying Russian crude. Jaishankar said, “People should also remember that at that time the US had specifically asked India to buy Russian oil so that the global market was stable. After imposing heavy tariffs on us for buying Russian oil last year, the US had lifted its sanctions on Russian oil. Let’s do this. “Let us not pretend that there is any great principle involved in this.”
He further said, “The policy comes into force one day and ends the next, that is, when it is right for us, do it and when it is not right, don’t do it. Look, we are all sensible people. We know how this game is played. So I don’t think it is really about principles or moral posturing.”
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