S Jaishankar News | India Defends Russia Trade: 'Buying Or Not Buying Oil Won't Solve War'

Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, who was in Kyiv for an official visit, said curtailing India's purchase of Russian oil will not stop the war in Ukraine, pushing back on the Western position that cutting Moscow's economic lifeline would force it to abandon the conflict. Addressing the media, the minister stressed that the conflict, which is in its fifth year, could only be resolved by dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation. "This conflict, which is today in its fifth year, will not be solved because somebody is buying or not buying oil or alumina or minerals or metals or fertiliser. This conflict will be solved by dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation," Jaishankar said after he met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. The minister highlighted the challenges of ensuring energy security for India's 1.4 billion people and said both Ukraine's and India's perspectives on the issue should be respected. "I think it's also important that all of you get the challenges of providing energy for 1.4 billion people at a time when the world energy situation is very, very difficult. So, I would say, I mean, this is something where clearly the Ukraine side has its perspective, which we respect, and we have ours, which I would expect others to also respect."