India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr. S. Jaishankar, during his visit to Moscow for high-level bilateral talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, strongly defended New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil and questioned the logic behind the United States’ tariff actions.

Jaishankar expressed India’s “perplexity” at Washington’s rationale, recalling how, in recent years, American administrations themselves had urged countries across the globe to take all necessary steps to stabilise the world energy market—including sourcing oil from Russia.

Against this backdrop, he declared it contradictory and ironic that India is now being penalised for precisely the same practice.

The development comes as the United States recently announced the imposition of steep trade measures on India—levying a 25 percent reciprocal tariff along with an additional 25 percent duty specifically targeting Indian imports of Russian oil. This brings the effective tariff burden to 50 percent, a move that Jaishankar suggested was discriminatory.

The U.S. justification, delivered by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, argued that unlike China, India had dramatically increased its imports of Russian oil after the start of the Ukraine war, and furthermore accused New Delhi of “profiteering” by reselling Russian crude in global markets.

However, Jaishankar countered this reasoning, pointing out that India is not the biggest purchaser of Russian oil—China holds that position—while the European Union remains the largest buyer of Russian LNG, yet neither faces such punitive measures. He further highlighted that several other countries have seen far greater trade surges with Russia after the conflict began in 2022 than India has.

Beyond energy security, Jaishankar emphasised the broader strategic importance of India-Russia relations, noting that the partnership has been one of the “steadiest of major relationships” since the Second World War, enduring multiple geopolitical shifts.

He underlined that sustaining collaboration in energy—through both trade and investments—is vital to India’s national interest and energy diversification strategy.

Additionally, he drew attention to India’s robust defence and military-technical cooperation with Russia, which continues to support New Delhi’s “Make in India” initiative by facilitating joint production ventures, co-development projects, and critical technology transfers in the defence sector.

These long-standing ties, according to Jaishankar, provide a comprehensive framework of trust and mutual support that New Delhi cannot afford to undermine for short-term geopolitical considerations.

The Indian government has consistently defended its purchases of Russian crude on grounds of sovereignty, pragmatism, and national interest. Officials have maintained that decisions on energy imports are driven not by political coercion but by factors such as market availability, pricing competitiveness, and the need to ensure affordable energy access for India’s huge population and growing economy.

For New Delhi, this approach aligns with its broader emphasis on strategic autonomy in foreign policy—balancing relations with multiple major powers without allowing alignment with one to compromise relations with another.

India’s sharp response underscores both its resistance to external pressure and its commitment to pursuing an independent oil strategy amid global energy uncertainties.

The episode also highlights growing fault lines in India-U.S. trade relations, the increasing complexity of global energy geopolitics in the shadow of the Ukraine conflict, and New Delhi’s determination to prioritise long-standing ties with Moscow, even while maintaining robust engagement with Washington.

The dispute may well serve as another test case for how India manages its delicate diplomatic balancing act in an increasingly polarised international order.

Based On A NDTV Report