Foreign minister S Jaishankar strongly defended Indiau2019s oil imports from Russia after a meeting with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock saying Europe can’t make choices in line with its energy needs priorities and asked India at the same time to do something else. Jaishankar said the EU had imported 6 times more oil than India from Russia.The meeting saw the signing of a Comprehensive Migration and Mobility Partnership between the two countries, which will, according to the government, will facilitate employment opportunities for fostering exchange of skills and talents. The German minister, who has been pressuring her government to adopt a more assertive China policy, praised ties with India and said that, unlike other nations in the area, Germany and India shared a partnership of principles and that India was not a substitute for China as a partner.
Video Courtesy: Firstpost
While Baerbock claimed that Russia’s illegal conflict had caused problems for India too, Jaishankar highlighted in a joint news conference that the EU had imported more fossil fuel from Russia between February 24 and November 17 than the next 10 countries combined.If I have to compare it to India, the EU imports around six times as much oil as India does. Gas is infinite because we don’t import it. Even coal imports from Russia by the EU is 50 per cent more than India’s imports, said Jaishankar, responding to a question from a German journalist.I also understand Europe has a point of view. And Europe will make the choices it will make that is Europeu2019s right. But for Europe to make choices, which prioritize its energy needs, and then ask India to do something else (is unacceptable), he added, as he emphasised that efforts to increase commerce with Russia began long before the conflict in the Ukraine and that the outcome will be determined by market forces.
u201cBut I don’t think people should read anything more into it other than the legitimate expectations of any trading country to increase its trade, he said, adding most European governments were understanding of Indiau2019s position on the conflict.Jaishankar also brought up the matter of Germany’s delay in granting visas to India. In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, the two ministers also spoke about the state of Afghanistan and the threat of cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistan. He claimed that Germany had demonstrated awareness of India’s position on Pakistan, which is that talks and terror cannot coexist.
“We discussed the challenge of cross border terrorism, and essentially the fact that we engage Pakistan bilaterally on whatever outstanding issues but the main challenge today is really the fact that we cannot have talks while there is terrorism and I think that was understanding from the German side, in this regard,u2019u2019 he said. Germany reiterated that J&K was a bilateral issue.On negotiations with Russia and Ukraine to end the conflict, Jaishankar said it’s not for India to specify conditions for dialogue. u2018u2019Thatu2019s not our intention. The Indian position articulated by PM Modi is that this is not an era of war, that dialogue and diplomacy is the answer,u2019u2019 he said.
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