US pressure on India for Russian oil purchase ‘unjustified’, energy cooperation to continue: Moscow
Russia’s diplomatic mission in India on Wednesday said that the United States pressuring New Delhi against purchasing and reselling oil from Moscow was unjustified, The Indian Express reported.
Roman Babushkin, the chargé d’affaires at the Russian embassy in Delhi, said that Moscow was confident that the energy cooperation with India would continue “notwithstanding the external pressure”.
The comments came amid diplomatic tensions between New Delhi and Washington after the Donald Trump administration on August 6 doubled the tariffs on goods imported from India to 50% for purchasing Russian oil amid the war in Ukraine.
Trump has repeatedly alleged that India’s purchases of Russian oil were “fuelling the war machine”.
The doubling of the levies came a week after Trump announced a 25% levy on Indian goods as part of the so-called reciprocal tariffs on dozens of countries that have not finalised separate trade agreements with the US.
Babushkin said on Wednesday that if Indian goods “cannot go to the US market, they can head to Russia”.
“If the West criticises you, it means you are doing everything right...” ANI quoted Babushkin as saying.
The Russian diplomat said that Moscow does not expect New Delhi to stop buying Russian oil.
Russia has a “very, very special mechanism” to continue oil supplies to India, Reuters quoted him as saying, adding that New Delhi’s fuel imports from Moscow will remain at...
Read more
News