Jaishankar says 'buying Russian oil is to India's advantage, we will keep that going'

Moscow, Nov 08: Buying Russian oil is to India's advantage and India will continue doing that, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday after meeting his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov.

Jaishankar and Sergey Lavrov held talks in Moscow covering a range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interests.

In his opening remarks Jaishankar pointed out that the Covid-19 pandemic, financial pressures and trade difficulties had taken a toll on the global economy.

"We are now seeing the consequences of the Ukraine conflict on top of that. There are also the more perennial issues of terrorism and climate change, both of which have a disruptive impact on progress and prosperity," he added.

''India and Russia have an "exceptionally" steady and time-tested relationship and the objective now is to fashion a balanced, mutually beneficial and long-term engagement in the backdrop of the increasing economic cooperation,'' Jaishankar said.

It must be noted that India has been buying oil from sanctions-hit Moscow amid the Ukraine conflict that started earlier this year, much to the chagrin of the West, which has severed trade ties with Russia.

The external affairs minister arrived in Moscow on Monday evening. Jaishankar and Lavrov have already met four times after the Ukraine conflict began in February.

Since the Ukraine conflict began, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has spoken to Russian President Putin as well as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy a number of times.

In a phone conversation with Zelenskyy on October 4, Modi said there can be ''no military solution'' and that India is ready to contribute to any peace efforts.

At a bilateral meeting with Putin in the Uzbek city of Samarkand on September 16, Modi told him that ''today's era is not of war''.

India has not yet condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine and it has been maintaining that the crisis must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue.