India's High Commissioner to britain Vikram Doraiswami has rejected Western criticism of India's oil purchase from Russia. He said that no country can shut down its economy in one go. In an interview to Britain's Times Radio, he also said that many european countries are buying energy and rare minerals from the same sources from which they are refusing to let india buy.
Doraiswami questioned the double policy of Western countries and said, "Many european countries are still buying rare earth and energy products from the same sources from which they are refusing to let us buy. Isn't this contradictory?"
Why is india buying Russian oil?
India, the world's third-largest oil importer, previously bought most of its oil from the Middle East, but after Russia's invasion of ukraine in 2022 and Western sanctions, russia started selling oil at a huge discount to attract alternative buyers. india took advantage of this opportunity.
Doraiswami said, "Our traditional energy sources have now been taken over by others and prices have also increased a lot. We import more than 80% of our oil needs. In such a situation, what option do we have? Should we shut down our economy?"
Clarification on India's relations with Russia
On being asked about India's closeness with russia, he said, "Our relationship is not based only on a leader or government. It is a long-standing security cooperation. When some Western countries refused to sell weapons to us and sold the same weapons to our neighbors, russia helped us."
He also said that just as other countries build relationships based on their national interests, india also takes decisions keeping in mind its energy and strategic interests.
India's stand on ukraine war
Doraiswami also reiterated that prime minister Narendra Modi has repeatedly said that this is not the time for war. He said that PM Modi has told this to both Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. He further said, "India wants to see this war end soon, just as we want a peaceful solution to all the conflicts going on around the world."
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