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‘Helpful if India says Russia is…’: Germany's Robert Habeck on Ukraine war
Robert Habeck, who is on a three-day India visit, urged New Delhi to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
German vice-chancellor Robert Habeck, who is on a three-day India visit, urged New Delhi to condemn Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and said it would even help in their ties – if India says “this is an aggression”.
“You can't stay neutral if there's injustice… There's always an aggressor and one that is the victim, and if you say 'I don't distinguish between aggressor and victim', in a way, you don't reflect the real situation,” Habeck told DW in an interview.
Habeck added that while he respected India's own “tradition and partnership with Russia”, New Delhi cannot remain neutral while the war is ongoing.
"I would be very glad, and it would even help in our relationship, if India at least finds clear language and says this is an aggression, it's a one-sided aggression, it's Putin's war," DW quoted Habeck as saying.
In a recent interview to Wall Street Journal (WSJ), ahead of his departure for a historic State visit to the US, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said that India stood on the side of peace in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict. Modi also said when it came to the Ukraine conflict, "Some people say that we are neutral. But we are not neutral. We are on the side of peace."
Asked about criticism in the US of his government for not taking a more forceful stance against Russia in the conflict with Ukraine, Modi told the publication, "I don't think this type of perception is widespread in the US."
Habeck's visit to India is a step toward expanding Germany's economic relations in Asia away from China and to diversify energy resources, DW reported.
'Democracies shouldn’t take advantage of sanctions on Russian oil'
Habeck, who is also Germany's economics minister, said democracies shouldn’t take advantage of Western sanctions or the G7 price cap on Russian oil to provide more funds to Russia to fuel its war in Ukraine.
Western sanctions imposed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine haven’t banned trade in Russian oil, but providing more funds to Russia or “using this sanctions system to benefit from it is not the idea of it," Habeck told reporters on the margins of an Indo-German Business Forum.
Asked about India not joining the price cap imposed on Russia oil by the G7, Habeck replied, “The sanctions system means that we haven’t banned the trade of oil, but there’s a price cap on it. That means that you are allowed to buy crude oil and refine it, this is within the sanctions system, but making money out of it, bringing more money to Russia, using this sanctions system to benefit from it is not the idea of it.”
He added: “So, I ask all democracies worldwide not to use the sanctions system to give more credit, more money to Russia that they can fuel their war in Ukraine.”
