Russia on Wednesday (February 18) refuted Washington’s claim that India has agreed to stop purchasing Russian crude oil. Russia said it has no reason to believe that New Delhi has changed its stance on energy imports.
What did Maria Zakharova say?
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said at the weekly briefing that India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial for both countries and helps maintain stability in the international energy market. He said, “We have no reason to believe that India has changed its stance on the issue of buying Russian hydrocarbons. There is nothing new in the claims of US President Donald Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have usurped the right to dictate to independent countries.”
Trump had claimed
This statement of Russia comes after Washington’s claim that New Delhi has committed to stop the import of Russian crude oil. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said last week that India has agreed to stop buying Russian oil. Recently, while announcing the trade agreement with India, US President Donald Trump had also claimed that India will no longer buy crude oil from Russia.
This statement came after the recent phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump. Later both sides announced to reduce the US tariff on Indian goods from 50 percent to 18 percent. This reduction also included the 25 percent tariff that Trump had imposed on India’s purchase of Russian oil in August last year.
India’s stand
India has neither confirmed nor denied Washington’s claim of stopping the import of Russian crude oil. New Delhi says that national interests will remain paramount in decisions related to energy purchase. Russia has earlier also accused America of stopping India and other countries from buying Russian oil and said that Washington is using pressure measures like tariffs and sanctions. Zakharova also criticized Ukraine’s European allies, saying they were not interested in a peace deal.
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