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‘Buying or not buying Russian oil won’t solve Ukraine crisis’: Jaishankar says India needs to take care of energy needs
S Jaishankar said India also needs to address the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people, and that this is something other countries should also respect.
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External affairs minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said that whether India buys Russian oil or not, it will not solve the ongoing crisis between Russia and Ukraine. Jaishankar made the remarks after meeting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv.
Addressing a question from the media about Ukraine’s concerns over India buying Russian oil, Jaishankar said India also needs to address the energy needs of its 1.4 billion people, and that this is something other countries should also respect.
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Deep Dive
“You know, the reason for your question, I get that, but I think it’s also important that all of you get the challenges of providing for energy for 1.4 billion people at a time when the world energy situation is very, very difficult. So, I would say, this is something where clearly the Ukraine side has its perspective, which we respect, and we have ours, which I would expect others to also respect,” Jaishankar said.
The EAM also said that India buying energy from Russia or not buying it would not solve the crisis that has been ongoing between the two countries for five years.
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“This conflict, which is today in its fifth year, will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or minerals or metals or fertiliser. This conflict will be solved by dialogue, by diplomacy, by negotiation. And that is why it is something we would encourage,” Jaishankar said.
Jaishankar says India ready to help end war in Ukraine
Jaishankar also said that India is ready to help end the Ukraine war. Speaking to reporters on Thursday during his visit to Kyiv, the External Affairs Minister said that, if needed, India stands ready to mediate.
“If India can be of any help, in any manner, we are there,” Jaishankar said alongside Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, as per news agency Reuters.
He also added that attacks on commercial shipping in the Black Sea were discussed during his meeting with Sybiha.
Zelensky, meanwhile, thanked India for its support to end the “unjust war” that Russia started against Ukraine.
“Held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. We discussed important issues. We are grateful to India for its desire to end this unjust war—the war of Russia against Ukraine. This time must certainly not be a time of war. Peace is needed. This is India's clear position,” Zelensky wrote in a post on X.
