'Trying to ban India...': Moscow's BIG allegation on US amid uncertainty over Russian oil purchase after Washington's trade deal
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "'Trying to ban India...': Moscow's BIG allegation on US amid uncertainty over Russian oil purchase after Washington's trade deal")
US President Donald Trump, Indian PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin
Russia’s FM Sergei Lavrov accused the US of coercive tactics to block India and others from buying cheap Russian oil, citing sanctions and tanker pressure. India reiterated energy decisions are guided by national interest amid claims linked to the India-US trade deal.
In a big statement, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday (Feb 9) said that efforts are being made to ban India and other partners from purchasing Russian oil. Lavrov directly named the United States, at a time when India and the US signed a trade deal with Trump claiming that India has assured it will stop the purchase of Russian oil. He accused Washington of using "coercive" measures like tariffs, sanctions and direct prohibitions in order to achieve its goal of economic domination. The Russian Foreign Minister also spoke about Russia-Ukraine peace talks and linked it to the Russian oil.
Speaking in an interview with TV BRICS, Lavrov said, "They (US) tell us that the Ukraine problem should be resolved. In Anchorage, we accepted the US Proposal... The US position was important to us. By accepting their proposal, we seem to have completed the task of resolving the Ukrainian issue and moving on to a dull-scale, broad-based and mutually beneficial cooperation. So far, the reality is quite the opposite. New sanctions are imposed, a 'war' against tankers in the open sea is being waged in violation of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. They are trying to ban India and our other partners from buying cheap, affordable Russian energy resources and are forcing them to buy US LNG at exorbitant prices." He also explained that while striking a peace deal, Moscow will also keep in mind that Washington is seeking to control its trade, investment cooperation, and military-technical ties with major strategic partners, such as India and other BRICS members."
India's statement on Russian oil
His statement comes after Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said that "national interest" would continue to guide India's energy-related decisions, underlining that the key drivers of the country's energy policy are “adequate availability, fair pricing and reliability of supply.” He added that safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers remains a top priority for the government. Earlier on Sunday, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal clarified that India's decisions on Russian oil imports are taken solely by domestic buyers and are not dictated by the recently concluded India-US interim trade agreement framework, noting that it is in the country's "strategic interest" to diversify its energy sources. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has also underlined that diversifying energy sourcing in line with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics remains central to India's strategy to ensure energy security for its population of 1.4 billion.
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India-US trade deal
Prime Minister Modi confirmed the trade deal with the United States on Monday (Feb 2) and appreciated President Donald Trump’s leadership, terming it “vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity.” Trump claimed that India will stop buying Russian oil as the part of the deal. India or PM Modi has not commented on it yet. Trump, who had imposed a 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports late last year and later doubled the tariffs on India to 50 per cent punishing Delhi for buying oil from Russia, reduced the tariffs to 18 per cent. Releasing a statement on the deal on Feb 9, the White House called the deal “historic,” and mentioned key points of the deal. Notably, it did not mention anything concrete on India’s Russian oil purchase, and the sole mention of it was in form of a summary of the phone call between Trump and PM Modi. It said that the US "agreed to remove the additional 25% tariff on imports from India in recognition of India’s commitment to stop purchasing Russian Federation oil.”
