US leader plans to warn India about buying Russian oil

The meeting of President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi took place at a time when America has made it clear that the country does not want to see India increase its imports of Russian oil, Reuters pointed out.

President Biden will continue close US consultations on the consequences of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine to reduce the destabilizing impact of hostilities on global food supplies and commodity markets. , White House press secretary Jen Psaki announced on April 10.

Daleep Singh, US Deputy National Security Adviser for International Economics who recently visited India, said the US would not set any “red lines” with India regarding energy imports. volume from Russia but don’t want to see a “rapid acceleration” in purchases.

India has bought at least 13 million barrels of crude oil from Russia Since the country launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24, due to the sharp drop in Russian oil prices following Western sanctions on Russian entities. Meanwhile, Reuters data shows, for the whole year of 2021, India imported about 16 million barrels of Russian crude oil.

The meeting of President Biden and Prime Minister Modi took place before a ministerial meeting under the US-India 2+2 framework between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, White House added.

The last time Mr. Joe Biden and Mr. Narendra Modi were in contact was in March. Mr. Biden also recently said that in the Quartet group (including the US, Australia, Japan and India) only India has not yet responded. fiercely with Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine.

Reuters pointed out, this South Asian country has tried to balance its relationship with Russia and the West, not imposing measures. punish Russia like the rest of the Quartet.

Russia has long been India’s largest supplier of defense equipment, although purchases from the United States have also increased over the past decade. Defense analysts say that Russian supplies are more cost-competitive and very important to India as it faces major neighbors with superior military superiority.

During his recent visit, Mr. Daleep Singh said that the US is ready to help India diversify its energy and defense sources. India is the third largest oil importer and consumer in the world.

He also warned that the US does not want its allies to help with the recovery ruble. The ruble had fallen after the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine but has recovered in recent days.

Ukraine said on April 10 that it was seeking another round of European Union sanctions against Russia as well as more military aid from its allies as it prepared to respond to a major Russian offensive in the region. east of the country.

Russia has not captured any major Ukrainian cities since the launch of the operation on February 24; however, Ukraine believes that Russia is concentrating its forces in eastern Ukraine for a major offensive.

Apart from the Russia problem, UkraineDuring their meeting on April 11, Joe Biden and Narendra Modi will also discuss cooperation on a range of issues including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, combating the climate crisis, and strengthening the global economy. and uphold a liberal, open, rules-based international order that underpins security, democracy and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific, Ms. Psaki said.