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‘Guided by what’s on offer’: India on NATO official’s warning on Russian oil
Mark Rutte has warned India, Brazil and China that they could face secondary sanctions if they continue to do business with Russia.
NEW DELHI: India on Thursday responded to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte’s warning about sanctions on countries buying Russian oil by saying that the country’s energy procurement is based on market conditions and national interests.
In an apparent reference to some European countries still buying Russian energy, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said there should be no “double standards” on the issue.
Rutte has warned India, Brazil and China that they could face secondary sanctions if they continue to do business with Russia.
“We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us,” Jaiswal told a weekly media briefing while responding to a question on Rutte’s comments.
“In this endeavour, we are guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter,” he said.
India, China and Brazil have been major buyers of Russian oil after the US and the European Union (EU) imposed sanctions on Russia over the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“My encouragement to these three countries, particularly, is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard,” Rutte told reporters in Washington.
Rutte also urged the three countries to use their influence with Russia to get President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine.
“So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way,” Rutte said.
Rutte’s remarks coincided with US President Donald Trump’s warning Russia of significant trade restrictions if Putin does not reach a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days.
“We’re going to be doing very severe tariffs [on Russia] if we don’t have a deal in 50 days,” Trump said on Tuesday.
India, China and Brazil, along with Russia, are members of the Brics grouping and Trump has been critical of the bloc for promoting trade in the national currencies of its members.
Earlier this month, Trump threatened Brics member states with 10% additional tariffs on exports to the US.
India has consistently said that dialogue and diplomacy can lead to a solution for the Russia-Ukraine conflict. New Delhi has also said that no solutions can be found on the battlefield, and negotiations cannot succeed under the shadow of the gun.
India also ramped up the purchase of discounted Russian energy in 2022 and Moscow is now one of the top two energy suppliers for New Delhi.
