AI-Generated Image
India Exposes West’s Double Standards on Russia
New Delhi: As Washington and Brussels accuse New Delhi of undermining sanctions by importing Russian oil, India today fired back, exposing what it calls blatant Western “double standards.” In a strongly worded statement, the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the criticism is “unjustified and unreasonable,” especially since the United States and the European Union continue extensive trade with Moscow themselves.
“India has been targeted by the United States and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the commencement of the Ukraine conflict,” the spokesperson said. “In fact, India began importing from Russia because traditional supplies were diverted to Europe after the outbreak of the conflict. The United States at that time actively encouraged such imports by India for strengthening the global energy market’s stability.”
India emphasised that its imports are a lifeline for domestic energy security. “India’s imports are meant to ensure predictable and affordable energy costs to the Indian consumer. They are a necessity compelled by the global market situation,” the statement noted. “However, it is revealing that the very nations criticising India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion.”
The figures underline the scale of Western engagement with Moscow. “The European Union in 2024 had a bilateral trade of Euro 67.5 billion in goods with Russia. In addition, it had trade in services estimated at Euro 17.2 billion in 2023. This is significantly more than India’s total trade with Russia that year or subsequently,” the MEA pointed out. “European imports of LNG in 2024, in fact, reached a record 16.5 million tonnes, surpassing the last record of 15.21 million tonnes in 2022.”
The spokesperson stressed that Europe-Russia trade “includes not just energy, but also fertilisers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel and machinery and transport equipment.”
Nor is the United States immune from similar scrutiny. “Where the United States is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers as well as chemicals,” the statement added.
Framing the targeting of India as politically motivated, the MEA concluded: “In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security.”
With this response, India has drawn a clear line against what it sees as Western hypocrisy—criticising New Delhi for energy trade with Russia while maintaining lucrative trade links with Moscow itself.
– global bihari bureau
