External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, while addressing a joint press briefing with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday, expressed concern over the rise in oil price triggered by Russian invasion of Ukraine, stating that the prices were "breaking out back."
"We are a $2,000 per capita economy. We have concerns about the price of oil. The price of oil is breaking our back. This is our big concern," Jaishankar was quoted by news agency ANI.
On price cap on oil, Jaishankar said there was a deep concern among developing countries. "You have to understand that over the last two months, the energy market has been under great stress. Countries in the global south have found it difficult to compete for limited energy, not just in terms of escalating prices but often in terms of availability," Jaishankar said.
"Our concern at the moment is that energy markets already under stress must soften up. We would judge any situation by how it affects us and the other countries... there is a very, very deep concern among developing countries on how their energy security needs are addressed or not," he added.
Meanwhile, Blinken said the US was "working with partners so that oil revenues don't fuel the Ukrainian war."
Jaishankar's statement comes as the G-7 and the European Union push an oil price cap on Russian crude and refined products to limit Kremlin's revenues. Though the US had asked India to join the coalition to cap the prices of Russian oil, New Delhi had said it would "carefully examine" the proposal before taking any decision.
India now purchases 10 per cent of its crude needs from Russia, a 50 per cent increase since before the war.
Jaisankar also addressed the issue of India buying military equipment from Russia, saying that was "not an issue." "We look at possibility across the world. We look at the quality of technology, the quality of capabilities and the terms at which particular equipment is offered. We exercise a choice which we believe in our national interest," Jaishankar added.
Meanwhile, the EAM said he brought up the issue of visa backlog during his meeting with Blinken. To this, the US Secretary of State said the issues were largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic and he planned to address it.
Following the outbreak of Covid-19 in 2020, US halted almost all visa processing worldwide. The situation is such that the waiting period for Indians has gone upto for visitor visas and 430 days for student visas.
"If it's any consolation, I can tell you that this is a challenge that we're facing around the world and it's a product largely of the COVID pandemic. Our ability to issue visas dropped dramatically during COVID, he said as he explained the self-financing part of the issuing of visas," Blinken added.
