- By Abhishek Sheoran
- Tue, 05 Mar 2024 11:16 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday hailed his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar for schooling the European nations on the import of the oil from the Kremlin.
While speaking at the World Youth Forum in the Russian city of Sochi, Lavrov acknowledged historical ties between India and Russia. He stressed on Moscow’s support for New Delhi during the Cold War period when the West withheld advanced weaponry.
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“My friend, Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar, was once at the UN, giving a speech. He was asked why they started buying so much oil from Russia. He advised them to mind their own business and reminded them at the same time how much oil the West had started buying and continued to buy oil from the Russian Federation. This is national dignity,” Sputnik news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.
Lavrov also hailed defence cooperation between the two nations, including the initiative of the joint production of high-tech missiles like the BrahMos. “In those years, when the West did not even think of transferring modern weapons to India, the Soviet Union, and later Russia, not only did so but also set up joint production of high-tech missiles [including the] BrahMos. That is why we remember [our] friendship, we never forget ourselves and we see that the Indian people have the same qualities,” Lavrov said.
India has significantly hiked oil imports from Russia even as the Western nations unleashed sanctions on Moscow amid the latter's war with Ukraine. India, however, categorically conveyed it was not going to adhere to the directives of the Western nation. India’s External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said the government was bound to fulfil the energy needs of the people of the country and the Western nations should contemplate before schooling India on this issue.