In a message sent the following day, the United States reaffirmed its position that India should decrease its dependence on Russia, following Jaishankar’s assertion that it is in India’s interest to continue buying oil from Russia. The issue remains one of bilateral interest between India and Russia, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.
According to the spokesperson, countries have learned the hard way that Russia is not a reliable source of energy. According to Ned Price, Russia is not a reliable source of security assistance.
India should decrease its dependence for the collective interest, not the interests of the region or Ukraine. “It is in India’s collection interest that it reduces its dependence on Russia over time, but it is also in India’s bilateral interest given what we have seen from Russia,” he added when asked about the US’s position regarding whether the US is okay with countries doing business with Russia as long as those countries condemn the ongoing conflict.
Our intention has been to exempt oil and gas — the energy sector — from the sanctions imposed on Russia intentionally. “That is not something that runs afoul of the sanctions,” Ned Price replied to the question, “because India has a high demand for energy that it continues to seek oil and other forms of energy from Russia.”
The country’s economic ties with Russia should be reduced as much as possible, and that’s up to countries around the world, Ned Price said.
Despite long-standing ties between India and Russia, the US state department spokesperson acknowledged India’s position. As far as the Indian-Russian relationship is concerned, Ned Price said, the White House stressed that it has developed and been cemented over decades. The United States was unable to partner with India economically, militarily, or security during the cold war.
In the last 25 years or so, that has changed, he added. “This is really a legacy we have achieved over the past quarter century — a bipartisan legacy,” he said.
We were always clear-eyed that this transition would not be completed overnight, or even over a few months or even over a couple years.”
