India cautions against ‘double standards’ as NATO chief issues threat on Russia trade

Russia is now the largest supplier of oil to India while India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil, after China.
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ALEXANDER MANZYUK

India has cautioned against any “double standards” on the matter of purchase of oil and gas from Russia in response to NATO secretary general Mark Rutte’s threat of secondary sanctions on countries trading with Moscow.

“We have seen reports on the subject, and are closely following the developments…Securing energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us. In this endeavor, we are guided by what is there on offer in the markets, as also by the prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter,” MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said responding to a question on Rutte’s comments.

On Wednesday, Rutte warned India, Brazil and China of economic penalties if they continued doing business with Russia. “If you are the President of China, the Prime Minister of India, or the President of Brazil, and you continue to trade with Russia and buy their oil and gas, then you know: if the man in Moscow doesn’t take the peace negotiations seriously, I will impose 100 per cent secondary sanctions,” Rutte said after a meeting with US senators.

According to some reports in the US media, a majority of US senators support a legislation that would allow US President Donald Trump to impose tariffs of up to 500 per cent on nations that are assisting Russia.

Trump recently said that secondary tariffs of 100 per cent were possible with the approval of the Senate. “We can do secondary. We’re probably talking about 100 per cent or something like that. We can do secondary tariffs without the Senate, without the House, but what they’re crafting also could be very good,” Trump had said.

India’s purchase of oil from Russia spiralled after Moscow attacked Ukraine in 2022 as it has been getting significant discounts from the country. Russia is now the largest supplier of oil to India while India is the second largest buyer of Russian oil, after China.