Dr Jaishankar has been sharply putting across the Indian position on Ukraine war
India's trade with Russia has seen a boost in the aftermath of the Ukraine conflict, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said today, stressing that the interest of Indian people must be prioritised in the country's diplomatic engagements.
Dr Jaishankar, known for sharply putting across and explaining the Indian position on the Ukraine war, was interacting with youngsters at National Institute of Technology in New Delhi.
Explaining the big change in Russia's trade relations with the West, the External Affairs Minister 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," Dr Jaishankar said in a video shared by news agency ANI.
The External Affairs Minister went on to explain how foreign policy decisions impact our daily life. "Without a good foreign policy, the petrol price would be much higher, the cooking oil price would be much higher, the (price of) next iPhone you buy would be much higher," he said.
India has strongly defended its decision to import crude oil from Russia after the West imposed sanctions over Moscow's attack on Ukraine.
Responding to questions on why India has continued to import oil from Russia, Dr Jaishankar has said India has a per capita income of $2,000 and it is the government's obligation and moral duty to ensure that it gets its people the best deal.
Hitting out at the Europe's disapproval over India's decision to continue buying oil from Russia, he had pointed out in December that the European Union had imported much more oil and gas from Russia as compared to India.
In another interaction, a video of which went viral, Dr Jaishankar had said, "Europe has to grow out of the mindset that Europe's problems are the world's problems, but the world's problems are not Europe's problems."
On India's position on the Ukraine war, Dr Jaishankar has said it has been "very clear and very public". "The Indian position articulated by my prime minister is that this is not an era of war and that dialogue and diplomacy is the answer," he has said.