NEW DELHI: We are an independent country, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said when asked if India calls itself an ally of Russia.
In an interview with Austrian public broadcaster, during his three-day visit to the central European country, Jaishankar said that Russia backed India when West preferred to arm Pakistan, even when it was a military dictatorship.
“India is an independent country. We do not define ourselves or perceive ourselves in alliance terms. That’s very much a Western terminology. It’s not something, it’s not a term that we use,” Jaishankar said.
“We have a relationship with Moscow. We’ve had a long-term relationship with Moscow. I think it’s important to look at that history of the relationship. It was a relationship built in a period when Western democracies used to arm a military dictatorship called Pakistan and deny India defensive weapons,” he added.
When asked about India’s move to import crude oil from Russia amid the war situation Jaishankar said, “Europe has managed to reduce its imports while doing it in a manner in which it is comfortable for Europe. Now if at 60,000 euros or whatever is your per capita income, you are so caring about your population. I have a population of $2,000. I also need energy. I don’t have, I’m not in a position to pay high prices. The price of oil has doubled.”
“And what Europe is doing is also moving into the Middle East and diverting production out of the Middle East into Europe and raising prices. So European actions actually are putting pressure on the global oil markets and on my imports as well,” he said.
In an interview with Austrian public broadcaster, during his three-day visit to the central European country, Jaishankar said that Russia backed India when West preferred to arm Pakistan, even when it was a military dictatorship.
“India is an independent country. We do not define ourselves or perceive ourselves in alliance terms. That’s very much a Western terminology. It’s not something, it’s not a term that we use,” Jaishankar said.
“We have a relationship with Moscow. We’ve had a long-term relationship with Moscow. I think it’s important to look at that history of the relationship. It was a relationship built in a period when Western democracies used to arm a military dictatorship called Pakistan and deny India defensive weapons,” he added.
When asked about India’s move to import crude oil from Russia amid the war situation Jaishankar said, “Europe has managed to reduce its imports while doing it in a manner in which it is comfortable for Europe. Now if at 60,000 euros or whatever is your per capita income, you are so caring about your population. I have a population of $2,000. I also need energy. I don’t have, I’m not in a position to pay high prices. The price of oil has doubled.”
“And what Europe is doing is also moving into the Middle East and diverting production out of the Middle East into Europe and raising prices. So European actions actually are putting pressure on the global oil markets and on my imports as well,” he said.