‘Should We Switch Off Our Economy’: Indian Envoy Defends Oil Ties With Russia, Questions Western ‘Convenience’ Deals | India News

New Delhi: India, the United Kingdom High Commissioner Vikram Doraiswami, said that it is not realistic to wait for the country to close its economy simply, and returned to India’s Western criticism against Russia’s ongoing oil imports.

In an interview with Times Radio, the Indian ambassador emphasized the inconsistencies at the stance of the West, and that many European countries continue to buy rare worlds and other energy products from the same suppliers that India are currently waiting for. “Don’t you think that looks a little strange?” Doraiswami stated.

India, the world’s third largest oil importer, was traditionally relying on the Middle East for energy needs. However, after the Western sanctions in 2022, after Western sanctions, he began to re -direct exports, he shifted a significant portion of Indian imports to Moscow.

Defending questions about India’s ties with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, Doraiswami said that the relationship has been built on a few long -standing factors, including historical security cooperation.

“There was a time when some of our Western partners refused to sell weapons to us, but provided them to our neighbors, then using them against us,” he said.

In addition, global buyers said that India’s energy trade with Russia is a result of the pricing of energy trade with Russia, as it excluded India for the energy sources it once trusted.

“We import more than 80% of our energy. We are the third largest consumer in the world. What would you do, close our economy?” he asked.

Doraiswami also questioned the double standards in global diplomacy and emphasized that several countries maintain comfort relations with countries that create difficulties for their own interests.

“Do we want you to do a small loyalty test?” he said.

In the Russian-Ukraine conflict, the ambassador reiterated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi constantly defending peace.

“Both President Putin and President Zelensky, including President Putin and President Zelensky, said that this was not a war period.

“We want to end this terrible conflict, just as we want other conflicts in the world,” he said.