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Amid US decision to impose 25 per cent additional tariffs on Indian goods for purchase of Russian oil, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday that China, not India, is the biggest purchaser of Russian oil and EU is the biggest purchaser of LNG and that the logic of singling out the country for secondary tariffs in perplexing.
Answering queries during a joint press briefing with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Moscow, Jaishankar said India also buys oil from the US, and that amount has increased. "We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG, that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South. We are a country where the Americans have said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from the US, and that amount has increased. So honestly, we are very perplexed at the logic of the argument that you (the media) had referred to..." Jaishankar said, answering a query. US President Donald Trump announced 25 per cent tariffs on Indian goods in July, even as there were hopes of an interim India-US trade deal that would have otherwise helped avoid elevated tariffs. A few days later, he imposed another 25 per cent tariff, taking the total to 50 per cent, citing India's continued imports of Russian oil. Jaishankar said sustaining energy cooperation with Russia through trade and investments is also important. He stressed the need to address trade imbalance. "We reaffirmed our shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India's exports to Russia. This requires swiftly addressing non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments, enhancing India's exports to Russia in sectors like agriculture, pharma, and textiles will certainly help correct the imbalance," he said. Jaishankar and Lavrov discussed developments in Ukraine and West Asia, with the External Affairs Minister laying thrust on dialogue and diplomacy in resolving conflicts. "On regional issues, we discussed developments in Ukraine, West Asia, the Middle East and Afghanistan. India's approach continues to emphasise dialogue and diplomacy as essential to resolving differences." Jaishankar said the defence and military cooperation is robust and Russia supports 'Make in India' goals. "Our defence and military technical cooperation also remains robust. Russia supports India's 'Make in India' goals, including joint production and technology transfer." External Affairs Minister said he took up the issue of Indians serving in the Russian Army. "While many have been released, there are still some pending cases, with some missing persons. We hope that the Russian side will expeditiously resolve this," he said. Jaishankar is on a three-day visit to Russia during which he co-chaired the 26th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) and addressed the India-Russia Business Forum meeting in Moscow. (ANI)
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