After India’s Secretary of State S Jaishankar lauded Russia for being India’s “extraordinarily stable and time-tested partner”, US State Department spokesman Ned Price acknowledged that the United States would be India’s partner if needed.
“When it comes to India’s relationship with Russia, we have consistently maintained that it is a relationship that has grown and strengthened over the decades. This actually happened during the Cold War when the United States An economic partner, a security partner, India was not in a position to be a military partner,” Ned Price said.
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After meeting his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Tuesday, the foreign minister said India would continue to purchase Russian crude, as it worked to find access “on the most advantageous terms” to India’s advantage when the world The emphasis is on energy markets.
“Russia has been a stable and time-tested partner. Any objective assessment of our relationship over many decades will attest that it has served our two countries very well. It has served my country very well for many decades. I think you can see the clear interest and commitment, I have to keep that relationship strong and stable,” Jaishankar said during his two-day visit to Moscow.
However, the US said that India should reduce its dependence on Russia in the collective interest.
S Jaishankar defends India’s oil trade with Russia, calls it a ‘fundamental obligation’ to serve consumers.
The US spokesperson said countries have learned the hard way that Russia is not a reliable source of energy. Ned Price said, “Russia is not a reliable supplier of security aid. Russia is not reliable in any field.”
“It is in the collecting interest that India reduces its dependence on Russia over time, but it is also India’s own bilateral interest that we have seen from Russia,” Ned said.