Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Looking the other way while European countries and its NATO allies continue to export energy from Russia, the US has singled out and threatened New Delhi, it could face “significant costs” if it aligns with Moscow.
While the US, Europe, Australia, and Japan have imposed economic sanctions on Russia for its war against Ukraine, India has ‘declined’ and has instead sought to continue imports of Russian oil, a top US official said.
Last week, India’s External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, in the presence of his visiting British counterpart Elizabeth Truss, had retorted that talks of sanctions “looks like a campaign” and it was Europe that was buying more oil from Russia than before the war.
But instead of asking its European allies not to buy Russian oil, the US has continued to put pressure on India on this count.
President Joe Biden’s top economic adviser, Brian Deese, Director of the White House Economic Council, said on Wednesday the US administration has warned India against aligning itself with Russia, and that its officials have been “disappointed” with some of New Delhi’s reaction to the Ukraine invasion.
“There are certain areas where we have been disappointed by both China and India’s decisions, in the invasion’s context,” he told reporters at a breakfast Wednesday hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, the media reported.
The US has told India that the consequences of a “more explicit strategic alignment” with Moscow would be “significant and long-term,” he said.
New Delhi’s balanced reaction to the invasion is complicating its relationship with Washington, where India is an important partner in countering Chinese influence in Asia.
Deese’s comments came after the US’ Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics, Daleep Singh, talks with Indian officials in New Delhi last week.
“What Daleep made clear to his counterparts during this visit was that we don’t believe it’s in India’s interest to speed up or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Dr. Jaishankar again underlined the importance of New Delhi’s old ties with Moscow. Russia is an “important partner in a variety of areas,” he told parliament. “Like all other countries, we too are assessing the implications” of Russia’s war in Ukraine and “deciding what is best for our national interest.”
Apart from seeking Russian oil, India is the world’s largest buyer of Russian weapons. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has resisted pleas from the US and Australia to scale back its relationship with Russia, insisting that India needs Russian weapons to counter both Pakistan and China and that alternatives are too expensive.
The US, India, Australia, and Japan are partners in the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) to counter China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific Region. Separately, the US has aligned with Australia and New Zealand for the same purpose.