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New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin during his three-day visit to Moscow, which comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump's fresh penalty tariffs on Indian goods over discounted Russian oil purchases.
"Honoured to call on President Putin at the Kremlin today. Conveyed the warm greetings of President Droupadi Murmu & Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Apprised him of my discussions with First DPM Denis Manturov & FM Sergey Lavrov. The preparations for the Annual Leaders Summit are well underway. Appreciate his sharing perspectives on the global situation and recent developments on Ukraine," Jaishankar posted on X after the meeting.
Trump has accused India of helping Moscow finance its war on Ukraine by importing Russian oil, a charge New Delhi has rejected.
Earlier in the day, Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. At a joint media briefing, he said India-Russia relations "have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War".
Asked about Washington's tariff move, Jaishankar said India was "perplexed" by the US argument. "We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil -- that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG -- that is the European Union. We are not the country with the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; there are some countries to the South. We are a country where the Americans themselves have said for years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from the US, and that amount has increased. So honestly, we are very perplexed at the logic of the argument," he said.
During his visit, Jaishankar also co-chaired the 26th session of the India–Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) and addressed the India–Russia Business Forum.
