‘They may not always appreciate it but’: Jaishankar on India buying Russian oil

External affairs minister S Jaishankar said the world has somewhat accepted New Delhi’s position on buying Russian oil amid Moscow’s ongoing war in Ukraine, because New Delhi has not been defensive about its decision, but made other countries realise the obligation it has to its people.

“Once you laid out very openly and honestly, people accept it. They may not always appreciate it but once it is there and you are not trying to be too clever about it, you actually have laid out your interest in a very direct manner, my sense is that the world somewhat accepts that as reality,” Jaishankar said addressing an interaction with the Indian community in Bangkok.

As someone who deals very intensively with the United States, Jaishankar said, “I do see that — not just in the United States but including the US — that they know what our position is and they move on with that.”

Many suppliers of India have diverted their supplies to Europe as Europe is buying less oil from Russia, the foreign minister said. “Oil prices are unreasonably high and so are the gas prices. A lot of traditional suppliers to Asia are diverting to Europe because Europe is buying less oil from Russia. It is a situation today where every country will try to get the best deal possible for its citizens, to try to cushion the impact of these high energy prices. And that is exactly what we are doing,” Jaishankar said.

“We are not doing it in a defensive way. We are being very open and honest about our interests. I have a country which has a per capita income of two thousand dollars. These are not people who can afford higher energy prices. It is my obligation, my moral duty to actually ensure that I get them the best deal,” Jaishankar added.

The foreign minister was asked about the India-US relationship in the backdrop of India continuing to buy Russian oil. Jaishankar arrived in Thailand on Tuesday to attend the 9th India-Thailand Joint Commission meering as both countries celebrate 75 years of the establishment f diplomatic relations. India and Thailand will sign to MoUs after the meeting.