'Weapons Sold to Attack India': Jaishankar's Sharp Response To Europe On Russian Oil Purchase

New Delhi: India's purchase of oil from Russia has been strongly criticized by the US and several European countries. Responding to a question about purchase of oil from Russia, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar launched a scathing attack on European countries, saying that these countries sell weapons, which is then used to attack India. 

What did Jaishankar say?

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on a visit to Europe, said at an event in Finland, "Europe sells weapons, which are used to attack India. Not just now but for many years. We Indians have never done anything to endanger Europe. I think that's a reasonable point."

What is the incident?

External Affairs Minister Jaishankar said this while participating in a panel discussion on 'Emerging Powers and the New Geopolitical Competition' at the 'Kultaranta Talks' along with Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen and UAE Assistant Foreign Minister Lana Nusseibeh.

According to reports, during the discussion, a journalist asked the Foreign Minister that India has "too sympathetic to Russia" and "too willing to buy oil from Russia", to which Jaishankar responded strongly by mentioning two important points and stressed on India's pragmatic approach to protect its national interests and ensure energy security.

"I'll make two observations. I buy oil based on cost and availability. So at that point of time, much of the oil available in the market was Russian because Europeans were essentially buying oil from the Middle East, which was our traditional supplier. So circumstances pushed us in a certain direction," Jaishankar stated.

He also pointed to Europe's historical and moral inconsistencies in matters related to India's security. The Foreign Minister said, "No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say that for Europe weapons vis-a-vis India."

When asked to elaborate, Jaishankar reiterated India's longstanding concerns about Western arms supplies to the region. The Foreign Minister said, "Europe sells weapons, which are used to attack India. Not just now but for many years. We Indians have never done anything to endanger Europe. I think that's a reasonable point."

What did Jaishankar say about US?

Referring to the events of 2022, Jaishankar said that the United States also acknowledged India's role in stabilizing the global energy market following Western sanctions on Moscow. According to the Foreign Minister, Washington encouraged New Delhi to continue purchasing Russian crude oil to control global inflation and prevent major disruptions in oil supplies.

“People should also remember that, at that time, the United States specifically asked India to buy Russian oil to help stabilise global markets. After first imposing tariffs on us last year for buying Russian oil, the US then lifted its sanctions on Russian oil. Let’s not pretend there is some great principle involved here,” Jaishankar said.

"If the policy is on one day and off the next—do it when it suits us and don’t do it when it doesn’t—then come on, we’re all adults in the room. We know how the game is played. So I don’t think this is really about principles or moral sanctimony,” he added.