‘Reflect national interest, pride’: Russia supports India about the oil trade; Accuses us of interference on Ukraine War pretext – The Times of India

The Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov defended the decision of India on Tuesday to keep buying Russian oil, and accused the United States of trying to eliminate competition with the help of the conflict in Ukraine as a pretext. “Our Indian counterparts have already responded [this pressure] To stop buying oil from Russia. They continue with the assumption [that] If the United States wants to sell something to India, including oil, India is ready to negotiate and discuss the general terms and conditions. However, when it comes to trade with other countries, it is only for Russia and India to discuss, “said Lavrov reporters, as quoted by Sputnik India. Lavrov added that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar had spoken about the issue. “I believe that this attitude reflects national interest and national pride and honor of our Indian friends,” he said.Lavrov’s recent comments are somewhat similar to what he said on the Unga sidelines in New York, after meeting EAM Jaishankar. At that time he had said that Russia fully respects the national interests of India and the “independent foreign policy” that Prime Minister Narendra is pursuing Modi, while also emphasizing that India and Russia share a “particularly privileged strategic partnership”.“These situations that can occur between India and the US or India and any other country, I cannot consider them a criteria for relations between India and Russia,” he added to the media.Talking further about his expected visit, he added: “We have complete respect for the national interests of India, full respect for the foreign policy (PM) Narendra Modi carries out these national interests,” added the minister, who is expected to visit India prior to the annual top of India-Russia in December. “