Buying Russian oil is to India’s advantage: S Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday said that buying the Russian oil is to India's advantage and India will continue doing that. Jaishankar's comments came after he met his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Moscow.

India has been buying oil from sanctions-hit Moscow amid the Ukraine conflict that started earlier this year, much to the chagrin of the West, which has severed trade ties with Russia.

Speaking about the India-Russia relationship, EAM Jaishankar said they have an "exceptionally" steady and time-tested relationship and the objective now is to fashion a balanced, mutually beneficial and long-term engagement in the backdrop of the increasing economic cooperation.

In his opening remarks, the EAM also said that the coronavirus pandemic, financial pressures and trade difficulties had taken a toll on the global economy.

"We are now seeing the consequences of the Ukraine conflict on top of that. There are also the more perennial issues of terrorism and climate change, both of which have a disruptive impact on progress and prosperity," he said.

"Our talks will address the overall global situation as well as specific regional concerns," he said.

Jaishankar on a two-day visit to Moscow 

Jaishankar arrived in Moscow yesterday evening on a two-day visit amid growing global concerns over increasing hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.

"India and Russia engage each other in an increasingly multi-polar and re-balanced world. We do so as two polities who have had an exceptionally steady and time-tested relationship. In that background, I look forward to our talks," he said.

Jaishankar's visit to Russia assumes significance as it came over a week before the G20 summit in Bali which is set to extensively deliberate on the Ukraine conflict and its implications. It is his first visit to Moscow after the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.

"Our meeting today, is of course, devoted to assessing the state of our bilateral cooperation; exchanging perspectives on the international situation and what that means to our respective interests," Jaishankar said.

"Where bilateral ties are concerned, you would agree that it is our objective today to fashion a contemporary, balanced, mutually beneficial, sustainable and long-term engagement," he said.

"Especially as our economic cooperation increases, this is a significant imperative. We would be discussing how our shared goals are best achieved," the External Affairs Minister added.

Besides touching upon the adverse impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar also talked about terrorism and climate change challenges.

"Where the international situation is concerned, the last few years of the Covid pandemic, financial pressures and trade difficulties; these have taken a toll on the global economy. We are now seeing the consequences of the Ukraine conflict on top of that," he said.

"There are also the more perennial issues of terrorism and climate change, both of which have a disruptive impact on progress and prosperity. Our talks will address the overall global situation as well as specific regional concerns," he noted.

India and Russia have been maintaining strong and continuing contacts at various levels. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin met most recently in Samarkand in September.

With agency inputs