Requested India to purchase Russian oil, then hit us with tariffs: Jaishankar on US flip-flops | India Information
3 min learnNew DelhiUp to date: Jun 12, 2026 12:16 PM IST
Exterior Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday took goal at what he described as the USA’ inconsistent method in direction of India’s buy of Russian oil. He stated Washington had, at one level, inspired New Delhi to purchase Russian crude to stabilise world vitality markets, solely to later impose tariffs over the identical problem.
Talking on the “Rising Powers and the New Geopolitical Competitors” session on the Kultaranta Talks in Finland, Jaishankar stated, “Let’s not fake that there’s some nice precept concerned right here. I imply, whether it is on-off, on-off, and the US desires to do it when it fits them and never do it when it doesn’t swimsuit them.”
The remarks got here in response to a query on New Delhi’s place on the Russia-Ukraine battle, with a journalist accusing the India of being “too sympathetic to Russia” and “too keen to purchase oil from Russia”.
Participated in a Panel dialogue at Kultaranta Talks with FM Elina Valtonen of Finland, and Assistant FM Lana Nusseibeh of UAE on ‘Rising Powers and the New Geopolitical Competitors https://t.co/S7MQD5wwFc
—Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) June 11, 2026
Defending New Delhi’s vitality decisions, Jaishankar outlined India’s life like method to safeguarding its nationwide pursuits. “I’ll make two observations. I purchase oil based mostly on price and availability. So at that time, a lot of the oil available on the market was Russian as a result of Europeans have been primarily shopping for oil from the Center East, our conventional provider. So circumstances pushed us in a sure path,” he stated.
Jaishankar recalled that in 2022, Washington itself recognised the very important position India performed in sustaining world financial equilibrium. In line with him, the USA had inspired New Delhi to obtain Russian crude to stabilise vitality markets and stop a pointy rise in world inflation following Western sanctions on Moscow.
“At the moment, the US instantly requested India to purchase Russian oil to stabilise the oil market. We purchase oil based mostly on price and availability,” he maintained throughout his deal with in Finland.
The Exterior Affairs Minister additionally questioned the contradictions in Western sanctions insurance policies, cautioning in opposition to making use of a selective ethical lens to complicated points in world commerce and vitality safety.
