Buying Russian gas is not funding the war, says Jaishankar

India's external affairs minister S Jaishankar while speaking at the Globsec 2022 Bratislava forum declared that "buying Russian gas is not funding the war".

"Why it's only Indian money and fund coming from India and not gas coming to Europe which funds war, let's be even-handed out," India's foreign minister told the forum.

Explaining the recent oil shortage in the market, India's external affairs minister said: "Look at the narrative that import has gone up nine times, it has gone up nine times from a very low base and it was a very low base because at that time markets were moron."

"Why countries in Europe and West and the United States, why don`t they allow Iranian oil in the market why don`t they allow Venezuela oil to come to the market? They have squeezed every other source of oil we have and then say you will not go to the market and get the best deal for the people, it's not a fair approach."

Watch:EU’s partial ban on Russian oil: How will it affect Russia?

India's foreign minister asserted that there is a shortage of the oil in the market but dismissed reports of buying oil and "selling to somebody else"

"Europe has to grow up out of the mindset that Europe's problems are the world`s problem but the world`s problems are not Europe`s problem, it is you it`s yours, it is me it's ours," he said.

On relations with China, India's foreign minister acknowledged that it is a "difficult relationship" but added that the government is "perfectly capable of managing it".

"A lot of our problems in China have nothing to do with Ukraine and have nothing to do with Russia. They are predated," the foreign minister stated.

"A linkage between China and India and what's happening in Ukraine. China and India happened way before anything happened in Ukraine. The Chinese do not need a precedent somewhere else on how to engage us or not engage us or be difficult with us or not be difficult with us," the minister said.

(With inputs from Agencies)

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