(Image source from: PTI)
Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, has dismissed the West's disapproval of India's oil purchases from Russia, stating that a nation cannot just "turn off its economy." In an interview with British radio station Times Radio last week, he mentioned that numerous European countries are still buying rare earth materials and energy from the same nations from which they are “forbidding us to buy.” "Doesn't this seem a bit strange?" Mr. Doraiswami asked. India, which ranks as the third-largest oil importer globally, historically obtained its oil from the Middle East but began importing significant amounts from Russia when it offered major discounts to attract new buyers. This shift by Moscow occurred after it faced sanctions from various Western nations due to its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
When questioned about India’s close ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, he explained that New Delhi's relationship is based on several factors. "One of these is our long-standing security ties that go back to a time when some of our Western friends wouldn’t sell us weapons but would provide them to neighboring countries that used them to strike us," the Indian diplomat clarified. He further mentioned that India has an "energy relationship" with Russia, stemming from "everyone else buying energy from sources we used to purchase from before.""Thus, we’ve largely been pushed out of the energy market, and prices have risen. We are the third-largest energy user in the world, importing over 80% of our energy. What do you expect us to do? Shut down our economy?" Mr. Doraiswami stated.
"We also notice that other nations keep ties with countries that cause us issues for their own benefits. Should we request you to create a test of loyalty?" he added. On the topic of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, he remarked that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has consistently stated that "this is not a time for war.""He has made that clear multiple times, both to the president of Russia and to the president of Ukraine (Volodymyr Zelensky)," he stated. "We are very eager for this awful conflict to end, just as we wish for all conflicts around the globe to cease," Mr. Doraiswami concluded.
