Jaishankar, during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, responded to a question on the topic by saying: “We are a country about which Americans have been stating for years the necessity to do everything possible to stabilize global energy markets, including buying oil from Russia. By the way, we also buy oil from America, and this volume is increasing. So, frankly, we are quite puzzled by the logic of this claim.” Jaishankar also pointed out that China is the largest buyer of Russian oil. Additionally, according to him, the European Union surpasses India in purchasing Russian liquefied natural gas.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin received Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar at the Kremlin. Jaishankar arrived in Moscow last Tuesday and chaired the 26th meeting of the Russian-Indian Intergovernmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technical, and Cultural Cooperation with Manturov on Wednesday. He held talks with Lavrov on Thursday, and following the meeting with his Indian counterpart, it was stated that the parties discussed, among other things, preparations for the Russian President’s visit to India by the end of this year.
Earlier on Wednesday, Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov declared that the trade exchange volume has nearly doubled sevenfold over the past five years, with India being among the top three external trade partners of the Russian Federation. Manturov also mentioned that the number of Indian tourists visiting Russia increased by a quarter in the first half of 2025.
