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Is US running out of patience with India’s ‘own interest’ mantra over Russia?
- Oil imports from Russia to India rose from about 2 per cent before the Ukraine invasion to an all-time high of 23 per cent in September
- An analyst said India needs to balance ties with Russia to avoid Moscow moving closer to Beijing and New Delhi becoming more dependent on the US
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During S Jaishankar’s visit to Russia last week – his first since the start of the war in Ukraine – the Indian foreign minister repeatedly justified his government’s actions, by explaining that what India does is in its own “interests”.
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After meeting his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, Jaishankar said India will continue buying Russian oil because it benefits his country, adding that the two nations were expanding trade ties.
India has become the largest purchaser of Russian oil after China. Imports from Moscow rose from about 2 per cent before the invasion to an all-time high of 23 per cent in September.
Asked about a G7 plan to cap the price of Russian oil, Jaishankar said that as the world’s third-largest consumer of oil and gas – and as a country in which income levels were not high – India had to look after its own interests.
Analysts said India’s constant reference to its “interests” stems from its desire not to challenge China and prevent its own economic destabilisation.
“The solution is to grow its economy up to a point where China will no longer feel able to threaten India,” said Rafiq Dossani, director of the US-based RAND Centre for Asia-Pacific Policy.
Dossani said if New Delhi downgraded ties with Moscow, it would result in two adversarial powers – China and now Russia – becoming much closer, forcing India to become more dependent on the US and spend “large amounts on defence” at the expense of development.
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