Need to ensure our interest is best served: Jaishankar on Ind-Russia trade

EAM Jaishankar said on Monday that India should keep its relationship with Russia going and see how the interest of the Indian people is best served

India's trade with Russia has seen a boost in the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, External Affairs Minister (EAM) Dr S Jaishankar said, stressing that the interest of Indian people must be prioritised in the country's diplomatic engagements.

Jaishankar was interacting with students at the National Institute of Technology in New Delhi.

Explaining the big change in Russia's trade relations with the West, he said, "Russia's main economic partner was the Western countries. After the Ukraine conflict, that way was closed. Russia is now turning more and more towards Asia. Our trade before the Ukraine conflict was about 12-14 billion dollars, our trade last year was 40 billion dollars."

"So, you will see the Asian economies become partners. I think we should not worry too much about what they are doing with other countries. We should keep our own relationship with Russia going and see how the interest of the Indian people is best served," Jaishankar said.

He went on to explain how foreign policy decisions affect our daily lives.

"Without a good foreign policy, the petrol price would be much higher, the cooking oil price would be much higher, the [price of] the next iPhone you buy would be much higher," he said.

India has strongly defended its decision to import crude oil from Russia following sanctions imposed by the West over Moscow's attack on Ukraine.

In response to questions about why India continues to import oil from Russia, Jaishankar stated that India has a per capita income of $2,000 and that it is the government's obligation and moral duty to ensure that its people get the best deal possible.

Earlier on Friday, Jaishankar had said that India’s strong ties with Russia or any other country should not become an obstacle in equally strong relations with the US.

“It is not in our [India’s] interest to be tied down to exclusive relationships,” Jaishankar had said on the question of “divided loyalties” and India-US relations.

“Because we have a tradition of strong ties with Russia, that should not become a burden or an obstacle to an equally strong relationship with the United States,” he added.