{"id":8739,"date":"2023-11-17T12:36:45","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T12:36:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/?p=8739"},"modified":"2023-11-17T12:36:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T12:36:45","slug":"india-minister-credits-his-country-for-softening-global-oil-markets-with-russian-imports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/roydadnaft.ir\/English\/8739\/","title":{"rendered":"India minister credits his country for \u2018softening\u2019 global oil markets with Russian imports"},"content":{"rendered":"

RoydadNaft – <\/a><\/span>\u00a0India\u2019s foreign minister said his country was awaiting a \u201cthank you\u201d for buying sanctioned Russian oil, saying the move had eased pressure on prices elsewhere.<\/p>\n

Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said India should be credited with \u201csoftening the oil markets\u201d by avoiding competition with Western nations in the scramble for alternative supplies.<\/p>\n

He made the comments in an interview with veteran journalist Lionel Barber during the last leg of his five-day visit to the UK.<\/p>\n

India made Moscow its top supplier of oil since Vladimir Putin\u2019s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, as traditional customers in Europe imposed sanctions on Russian exports.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve actually softened the oil markets and the gas markets through our purchase policies,\u201d Mr Jaishankar said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have, as a consequence actually managed global inflation. So people should be saying thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019d be doing a service,\u201d asked Barber?<\/p>\n

\u201cYes absolutely, I\u2019m waiting for the thank you,\u201d replied Mr Jaishankar. \u201cWhen it comes to the purchase… I think the global oil prices would have gone higher because we would have gone into the same market to the same suppliers that Europe would have done, and as we discovered, Europe would have outpriced us.\u201d<\/p>\n

He praised India\u2019s strong relations with Russia and pointed to over 70 years of stable ties with the country.<\/p>\n

The top Indian diplomat began his UK visit on Sunday. He then met Rishi Sunak and new foreign secretary David Cameron as the British cabinet underwent a dramatic reshuffle following the sacking of Suella Braverman.<\/p>\n

Mr Jaishankar described his visit as \u201ctimely\u201d following a series of cross-party meetings and said there was \u201csubstantial progress\u201d on continuing free trade agreement negotiations with the UK.<\/p>\n

India began facing questions over its dealings with Russia after the latter\u2019s war in Ukraine.<\/p>\n

New Delhi pivoted from its traditional suppliers Saudi Arabia and Iraq and picked up discounted barrels from Russia.<\/p>\n

Russia, which has also been the biggest supplier of military equipment to India for decades, has not been directly condemned by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi.<\/p>\n

Mr Modi has called for peace and dialogue amid the war, and his strongest statement to date for Mr Putin had come last year.<\/p>\n

Mr Jaishankar has defended his country against criticism. He had earlier said that, as the world\u2019s third-largest consumer of oil and gas, India had to look after its own national interests and will continue buying Russian oil.<\/p>\n

In his interview, Mr Jaishankar also discussed Canada\u2019s allegations in September that it had \u201ccredible\u201d evidence of the Indian state\u2019s involvement in the murder of Canadian-Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar.<\/p>\n

India has rejected the allegations, calling them absurd.<\/p>\n

Mr Jaishankar said India was willing to cooperate with Canada, but demanded evidence to back its claims.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have a reason to make such an allegation please share the evidence because we are not ruling out an investigation,\u201d said Mr Jaishankar, in a reiteration of India\u2019s stand on the issue.<\/p>\n

He said Ottawa had given space for \u201cviolent and extreme political opinions which advocate separatism from India\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people have been accommodated in Canadian politics. They are given the freedom to articulate their views.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau made the comments in September and has since urged the Indian side to assist in investigations.<\/p>\n

The allegations have sparked a diplomatic row between the countries.<\/p>\n

Last month, Canada had recalled 41 diplomats from India after Delhi threatened to strip diplomatic immunity of its staff, a move it said was \u201cunreasonable\u201d and in violation of international law on diplomatic relations.<\/p>\n

Updated on