Defending long-standing ties between India and Russia, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said that both nations share a "stable" relationship. While speaking at the Munich Security Conference, EAM said that India don't have a European view of Russia.
Speaking to a leading German economic daily, Handelsblatt, Jaishankar shared the challenges faced by India to manage its energy supplies since the advent of Russia-Ukraine war.
"Both sides have communicated their positions clearly and have not emphasised their differences," said EAM.
With Russia-Ukraine war, Europe shifted a large part of its energy procurement to the Middle East- until then the main supplier for India and other countries but in a certain way we stabilized the energy market, he added.
India-Russia ties were under scanner since Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine.
"If no one bought crude oil from Russia, and everyone bought crude oil from other countries, the prices on the energy market would have shot up even further," he told the newspaper.
EAM also insisted on mediating talks with Russia and Ukraine to end war in the region. "We have already helped with very specific issues...However, we do not believe that we should initiate anything in this direction on our own," he said.
Over the last 18 months, India has emerged as one of the largest importers of Russian oil--a stand defended by India even after criticism from the West amid the ongoing war.
