advertisement
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Wednesday, 17 August, said that by purchasing crude oil from Russia, India is in effect buying Ukrainian blood even though Ukraine has been a reliable partner to India.
The foreign minister said that Ukraine expected “more practical support” from India during its fight against the Russian military, The Hindu reported.
“We are friendly and open to India. I supported evacuation of Indian students. We expected more practical support from India to Ukraine,” he added, referring to India and Ukraine as two democracies that are extremely similar and that they “have to stand by each other.”
Previously, Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had said that prices of oil and gas are “unreasonably high” and added that Asia’s traditional energy suppliers are “diverting to Europe,” as every country tries to navigate the soaring energy prices in the backdrop of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Jaishankar, addressing the Indian community in Bangkok, had said:
India has stepped up its oil imports from Russia since the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February. Reuters reported that imports surged to around 9,50,000 barrels per day in June.
While the Ukrainian minister accepted that India’s decision has not “surprised” them, he observed that the war has provided Moscow with an opportunity to profit from the energy trade.
He also cautioned that the deepening ties between Russia and India’s neighbour in the East, conflict-ridden Myanmar, will be a strategic challenge for India in the future, The Hindu reported.
“Russia is reaching out to Myanmar not because of bilateral reasons but because it wants to put its foot in the regional security and use Myanmar as a leverage,” Kuleba said.
(With inputs from The Hindu and Reuters.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)