US targeting India over Russian oil purchases is ‘unjustified and unreasonable’: New Delhi
The United States and European Union targeting India for importing oil from Russia is “unjustified and unreasonable”, stated New Delhi on Monday.
This came hours after US President Donald Trump said that Washington will substantially increase the tariffs imposed on goods imported from India over New Delhi’s purchase and sale of Russian oil in the “open market for big profit”.
Trump has been threatening to impose a so-called penalty on New Delhi for buying a large portion of its military equipment and fuel from Russia amid the war on Ukraine.
In response, India’s Ministry of External Affairs stated that the nations criticising India are “themselves indulging in trade with Russia”.
The US “continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV [electric vehicle] industry, fertilisers as well as chemicals,” the ministry added.
It also pointed out that the European Union had bilateral trade of Euro 67.5 billion in goods with Russia in 2024.
“In addition, it had trade in services estimated at Euro 17.2 billion in 2023,” said the ministry. “This is significantly more than India’s total trade with Russia that year or subsequently.”
According to New Delhi, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion, unlike for India.
India “began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe”...
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