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Russia Confident in India's Energy Partnership Despite Global Pressure

Russian officials state there is no indication India is reconsidering its energy cooperation with Russia, emphasizing the mutual benefits of the trade. Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal reiterates that securing energy for India's population is the government's top priority, requiring a strategy of diversification. The comments come as External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar meets US counterparts, discussing bilateral ties and global issues like Ukraine and the Indo-Pacific. At a critical minerals meeting, India also expressed support for a new resource engagement forum.

Key Points: India-Russia Energy Cooperation Unchanged, Say Officials

  • Russia sees no shift in India's energy policy
  • Trade in resources benefits both nations
  • India prioritizes energy security and diversification
  • Bilateral talks with US cover global hotspots
  • India supports critical minerals initiative
2 min read

"No reason to believe India reconsidered its approach to energy cooperation with Russia," says Russian FM Spox

Russian and Indian officials affirm continued energy cooperation, citing mutual benefits and India's priority of energy security for 1.4 billion people.

"ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the supreme priority of the government - Piyush Goyal"

Moscow, February 5

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Vladimirovna Zakharova said that there was no reason to believe that India would reconsider its approach to energy cooperation with Russia, RT News reported.

"No reason to believe India has reconsidered its approach to energy cooperation with Russia," Zakharova said as per RT News.

"The trade in resources is beneficial for both sides and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market," she added.

"We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from other countries. Therefore, we see nothing new here," Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Meanwhile, Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal said, "wish to clarify once again, as the government has stated publicly on several occasions, that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the supreme priority of the government. Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India's actions are taken with this in mind. I would therefore urge the honourable members to consider these issues in their proper perspective."

These remarks come as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in the US as part of the Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio. The EAM said that the two side reviewed their bilateral cooperation during his meetings with the US Secretary. Topics such as the Indo-Pacific, West Asia, and Ukraine were discussed, Jaishankar said.

"We did a fairly detailed review of our bilateral cooperation. It's natural when foreign ministers meet that you discuss the diplomatic agenda. Also, the calendar - what do we expect each one of us to do this year together, so a lot of our discussion was devoted to that, the bilateral side. But again, foreign ministers meet, and we talk about our business: the Indo-Pacific, what is happening in West Asia, the Middle East, Gaza, and the Ukraine conflict. There was a kind of global review of what was happening in the Western Hemisphere. In a sense, we discussed the world, we discussed our relationship, and it was a very open sort of forthcoming conversation," he said.

At the Critical Minerals meeting, the EAM underlined India's support for the FORGE (Forum on Resource, Geostrategic Engagement) initiative.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Good to see our diplomacy working. We are engaging with the US on critical minerals and maintaining ties with Russia for energy. It's a delicate balance, but EAM Jaishankar is handling it well. Our foreign policy should be about options, not alignment.
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Rohit P
Exactly! Why would we reconsider? The discounted oil has helped control inflation to some extent. When Western countries were buying Russian energy through back channels, we were doing it openly for our benefit. No hypocrisy here.
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Michael C
While I understand the pragmatic need for energy security, I hope the government is also accelerating investments in renewables. Long-term stability means reducing dependence on any single external source, fossil or otherwise. The FORGE initiative is a step in the right direction.
S
Shreya B
The Russian spokesperson sounds almost... relieved? 😅 It shows how important the Indian market is for them. We hold the cards because we are a huge, stable buyer. We should use this position to negotiate even better terms across the board.
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Karthik V
I appreciate the government's clarity. Piyush Goyal's statement is spot on - the supreme priority is 1.4 billion Indians. All this talk in international forums is just noise. Our ministers are doing what they were elected to do: secure India's future.
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