'Do It When Suits Them, Don't When It Doesn't': S Jaishankar On US Tariffs

Hitting out at the double standards of the Western nations, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar defended India's decision to buy Russian oil from 2022, after Moscow invaded Ukraine, saying the move was taken on the United States' request to keep global oil prices low. Addressing an event during his visit to Finland, Jaishankar also criticised the on-and-off US sanctions on Russian oil.

India became a major buyer of Russian oil after the US imposed sanctions on Russia in 2022 for invading Ukraine and capped the price of its oil.

"At that time, the US specifically asked India to buy Russian oil to stabilise the oil market," Jaishankar said at an event in Finland's Kultaranta.

"I buy oil based on cost and availability," he said, after a journalist accused India of being "too sympathetic to Russia" and "too willing to buy oil from Russia".

Jaishanker pointed out that "At that point of time, much of the oil available in the market was from Russia because Europeans were essentially buying up the Middle East oil, which was our traditional supplier."

"Circumstances pushed us in a certain direction." 

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Calling Russia a "steady supplier", the minister also criticised the US' contradictory policy regarding sanctions on Russian oil and urged against attaching excessive moral significance to the issue. 

"Right now, if you see, after having first put tariffs on us for buying Russian oil, the US then again lifted its sanctions... Let's not pretend there's some great principle involved here. I don't think making this about sanctimony is really warranted," he said.

US Red Lines On Russian Oil

The trade relationship between the US and India had strained last year when the Donald Trump administration imposed 50 per cent tariffs on goods from India -- the highest for a country in Asia. This included a 25 per cent penalty linked to India's purchase of Russian oil. US tariffs on Indian goods were cut to 18 per cent in February after Washington and New Delhi agreed to a framework of the interim deal. After the US Supreme Court ruling, they were reduced to 10 per cent.

After the war in Iran started, Washington waived off sanctions, allowing purchases of Russian seaborne oil to aid "energy-vulnerable" countries hit by the conflict. The move was intended to keep global oil prices stable as crude supply was hit due to the instability in the Middle East.

Despite America's changing stance on Moscow's energy trade, India has maintained it has been purchasing Russian oil irrespective of US sanctions waivers and will continue to do so based on commercial viability and energy security needs. 

"Regarding the American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasise that we have been purchasing from Russia earlier... before waiver also, during waiver also, and now also," Sujata Sharma, joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said last month.

On Europe's Moral Ambiguity 

Jaishankar also slammed the "moral ambiguity" of European nations regarding what is happening around the world. "No European country has been attacked with Indian weapons. I wish I could say that for Europe weapons vis-à-vis India," he said.

When asked to elaborate on the issue, he 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."