- India is welcome to export products to Russia if facing US market difficulties, said Russian diplomat
- India buying Russian oil perfect case of mutual accommodation, complementarity of our economies, he says
- Russia criticised US sanctions as unjustified, unilateral, and harming those imposing them
India is welcome to export its products to Russia if it is facing trouble entering the US market, a senior Russian diplomat on Wednesday said.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Russian Deputy Chief of Mission Roman Babushkin said the US' pressure on India over the latter's procurement of Russian crude oil was "unjustified" and "unilateral".
"..If Indian goods are facing difficulties entering the US market, the Russian market is welcoming Indian exports....," he said. "The sanctions are hitting those who are imposing them. It is a challenging situation for India but we have trust in our ties. We are confident that India-Russia energy cooperation will continue notwithstanding the external pressure."
"Let's proceed from the fact that Russia is the biggest supplier to India of crude oil. And India's demands are growing year by year. Certainly, this is a perfect case of mutual accommodation and complementarity of our economies. We are quite certain that our cooperation will continue," he added.
The Russian official's remarks came a day after US White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said President Donald Trump imposed tariffs on India to deter Russia from pursuing the Ukraine conflict. The additional duty of 25 per cent is scheduled to come into effect on August 27. The US earlier threatened sanctions on Moscow and secondary sanctions on countries that buy its oil if no moves are made to end the war in Ukraine. China and India are the top two buyers of Russian oil.
Mr Babushkin's comments also come at a time External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Russia and is expected to visit Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Mr Babushkin said "if India refuses Russian oil, it will not lead to equal cooperation with the West in general because it is not in the Western nature, which was clearly demonstrated in recent years." "They behave like neocolonial powers that think of their own benefit. This pressure is unjustified and unilateral," he said.
If the West criticises you, it means you are doing everything right, the Russian official asserted. "We don't expect that to happen (India to stop buying oil from Russia). We know about the challenging circumstances for India. This is the true strategic partnership we are enjoying. Whatever happens, even during challenges, we are committed to removing any problems," he said.
Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Mr Babushkin said: "The recent phone call by President Putin to PM Modi ji, explaining and sharing the information about recent developments in Ukraine, means India matters a lot to Russia. We are capable of finding any solution for mutual satisfaction. The deepening of our partnership will help us grow together..."
He added: "We have seen this problem of sanctions for many years now, but our trade is growing. In recent years, our trade has grown by 7 times."
He noted the rising tensions between US and India and said Washington would not "behave like that" if it considered New Delhi its friend. "As we all know, the sanctions are a tool of unlawful competition. It's always about double standards. A lack of trust, blackmail and pressure, as well as disrespect of national interests. Friends don't behave like that," he said.
He emphasised that Russia and BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries never impose sanctions and labelled non-United Nations sanctions and secondary sanctions as illegal, designed to weaponise the economy.
"You will never see sanctions imposed by Russia or within BRICS organisations where we together participate. Non-United Nations sanctions and secondary sanctions are illegal. They just weaponise the economy. Despite the tremendous sanction pressure on Russia, you will see the Russian economy is growing steadily. It means that you cannot exclude from the global economy such a big and important country like Russia with its tremendous energy, industrial and human potential, meaning that sanctions fail and moreover, they hit those who are imposing them," he said.
On August 6, Mr Trump escalated his tariff offensive against India by slapping an additional 25 per cent duty and subsequently doubling it to 50 per cent on Indian goods over New Delhi's continuous imports of Russian oil.
India condemned the "unfair, unjustified and unreasonable" move that is likely to hit sectors such as textiles, marine and leather exports hard. Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier said New Delhi would not back down in the face of economic pressure.
With this action singling out New Delhi for the Russian oil imports, India will attract the highest US tariff of 50 per cent along with Brazil. Both Russia and China, among others, have slammed Mr Trump for exerting illegal trade pressure on India.
On Tuesday, Ms Leavitt told a media briefing that the intent behind the sanctions was to put secondary pressure on Russia.
"Look, the president has put tremendous public pressure to bring this war to a close. He's taken actions, as you've seen, sanctions on India and other actions as well. He's made himself very clear that he wants to see this war end, and he has scoffed at the ideas of others that have been raised that we should wait another month before any meeting takes place," she said in Washington.
