India has already started buying oil from the federation, Sitharaman said, adding that the transition to gas is challenging as supplies have dwindled, Daily News and Analysis reported.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to New Delhi after US and British officials pressured India to avoid undermining the dollar-based financial system and imposing sanctions on the Eurasian nation.
New Delhi and Moscow are exploring ways to circumvent measures dictated by the United States, the European Union and their partners against the Kremlin, Russia’s foreign minister said on Friday after talks with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.
Jaishankar and Lavrov discussed India’s concerns about the impact of the Ukraine crisis on its economy and stressed the importance of ensuring that its economic and technological ties remain stable and predictable.
Lavrov lashed out at Western countries for trying to blackmail India and other non-sanctions nations like China.
The diplomat made it clear that Russia is making strides with both states in using national currencies instead of international dollar-based systems, and these efforts are compounded by the sheer unreliability of Western counterparts.
Lavrov’s stay in the Asian country coincided with that of United States Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh and United Kingdom Secretary of State Elizabeth Truss, who are trying to change the position of New Delhi ahead of Moscow due to the war in the Ukraine.
Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine’s Donbass Autonomous Region in February after authorities in the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics asked for help fending off attacks by neo-Nazi and far-right nationalist forces.
The United Kingdom, United States, European Union and allied countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) imposed economic and financial sanctions on Russia.
India is reluctant to join the Western powers’ anti-Russian rhetoric, instead calling for dialogue between the warring factions.
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