Ukrainian foreign minister says India buying Russian oil 'morally inappropriate'

The minister said the opportunity for India to buy Russian oil at a cheap price comes from the fact that Ukrainians are suffering from Russian aggression and dying everyday

New Delhi, Dec 07: Ukraine's foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba has criticised India over imports of Russian oil and referred to it as 'morally inappropriate'. The minister, on Tuesday, said that the opportunity for India to buy Russian oil at a cheap price comes from the fact that Ukrainians are suffering from Russian aggression and dying everyday. He said this in an interview with NDTV on Tuesday.

Ukraine's foreign minister's response came a day after India's foreign minister S Jaishankar said that the European Union (EU) has imported more fossil fuel from Russia than the next 10 countries combined between the months of February and November this year.

Responding to Jaishankar's comment, Kuleba said that it was wrong to justify buying oil from Russia.

The Ukrainian minister said, ''It is not enough to point fingers at the European Union and say, Oh, they are doing the same thing."

Kuleba also told the channel that the choice by India to import cheap Russian oil must be viewed through the lens of human misery in Ukraine.

It is to be noted that Russia has become India's top crude supplier in October this year. Following the Russia-Ukraine conflict, India increased its buying of oil from Moscow.

India has reiterated many times since the conflict began in February that India would continue to import crude oil from Russia.

"But as today the world's third-largest consumer of oil and gas, a consumer where the levels of income are not very high, it is our fundamental obligation to ensure that the Indian consumer has the best possible access on the most advantageous terms to international markets," Jaishankar had said in November after meeting with his Russian counterpart.

'PM Modi has a key role to play in helping to end the war'

Th Ukrainian foreign minister also said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi can play an important to end the war between the two countries.

''India is a very important player in the global arena and the Prime Minister of India, with his voice, can make a change," he said.

India's stand on the Russia-Ukraine conflict:

India has consistently called for an immediate cessation of hostilities between Russia and Ukraine. It has also appealed to an end to the violence.

PM Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Uzbekistan in September and said, "I know that today's era is not an era of war, and I have spoken to you on the phone about this."

PM Modi was lauded by all the global leaders for his statement about the conflict.

Along with PM Modi, foreign minister Jaishankar speaking at the 77th UN General Assembly had said, "We are often asked whose side we are on. And our answer, each time, is straight and honest. India is on the side of peace and will remain firmly there." He also added, "We are on the side that respects the UN Charter and its founding principles."

India's help to Ukraine amid conflict:

India has so far dispatched twelve consignments of humanitarian aid to Ukraine. At the request of the Ukrainian government, India has also provided financial aid for the reconstruction of an educational institution.