In an interview published on Feb. 18 with German financial daily Handelsblatt, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar explained why the Western approach against Moscow cannot be the line in New Delhi. He stressed that there were “natural differences in relations” between countries.
Jaishankar defended relations with Moscow, even in the face of the West’s recognizable efforts to inflict defeat on Russia in the conflict with Ukraine. Jaishankar stated: “Everyone conducts a relationship based on past experiences. If I look at India’s post-independence history, Russia has never hurt our interests. We have always had a stable and very friendly relationship ... and our relations with Moscow today are based on that experience.”
The Foreign Minister went on to say that he saw no alternative to importing Russian crude oil and natural gas. He emphasized that the oil and gas that European countries are now buying from the Middle East used to be supplied to Asia, prior to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, but not, he noted, at the present higher prices.
