New Delhi: Foreign Minister S Jaishankar’s remarks on “India’s oil purchase from Russia amounting to less than that of Europe drew in one afternoon” during the fourth India-US ‘2+2’ dialogue in Washington received praise from the opposition today. Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi using clapped emojis praised the comments in a tweet.
The Indian delegate was heard saying- I noticed you refer to oil purchases. If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe. We do buy some energy, which is necessary for our energy security. But I suspect looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon,” said the Foreign Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden discussed Ukraine during the virtual meet earlier on Monday.
The two leaders had an extensive exchange of views on several regional and global issues, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, global economic recovery, climate action, recent developments in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, and the situation in Ukraine, the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.”As the world’s two largest and oldest democracies, we are natural partners,” Modi said on ties with the US, adding, “Our talks today are taking place at a time when the situation in Ukraine remains very worrying.”
Speaking on India’s contribution to Ukraine in terms of medicines and relief material, PM Modi during the conversation also condemned the killings of civilians and supported calls for an independent investigation. Welcoming India’s humanitarian support for the people of Ukraine, Biden said India and US will continue the close consultations on how to manage and stabilise the effects of the “Russian war”.