‘Great Power’ India Subject To ‘Enormous Pressure’ Due To Energy Ties With Russia, Says Lavrov | WATCH

Calling India “a great power” that determines its national interests, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has slammed what he described as “completely unjustified” and “enormous pressure” on New Delhi over its energy cooperation with Moscow.

His remarks came as Russia is presiding over the UN Security Council for July, and Lavrov is in New York to chair the Council’s meetings during its presidency. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Lavrov rebuked Ukraine’s “insulting” remarks on the recent meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Moscow.

‘India is a great power’

“I think India is a great power that sets its own national interests, determines its own national interests, and chooses its own partners. And we know that India is being subject to enormous pressure, completely unjustified pressure in the international arena,” Lavrov said. He was responding to a question about Prime Minister Modi’s recent visit to Moscow and the opposition faced by India for its energy cooperation with Russia.

Modi’s Russia Visit

Prime Minister Modi paid an official visit to Russia on July 8-9 at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin for the 22nd India – Russia Annual Summit. This was Modi’s first trip to Russia since the start of the Ukraine conflict. India has not yet condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and has consistently pitched for a resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has also criticised Modi’s visit to Moscow, saying in a post on X that “A Russian missile struck the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine, targeting young cancer patients. Many were buried under the rubble. “It is a huge disappointment and a devastating blow to peace efforts to see the leader of the world’s largest democracy hug the world’s most bloody criminal in Moscow on such a day,” Zelenskyy had said of the Modi-Putin meeting.

India’s displeasure

India reportedly had conveyed to Kyiv its displeasure over the remarks. Referring to Zelenskyy’s comments about Modi’s trip to Russia being “a stabbing in the back of all peace efforts”, Lavrov said, “So that was very insulting and the Ukrainian ambassador was called in” and the Indian Ministry of External Affairs “talked to him about how he should be behaving.”

“The ambassadors were really behaving as if they were hooligans,” he said, referring to remarks made by some other Ukrainian envoys. “So I think India is doing everything right,” he said. Lavrov noted that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, after touring Western nations, answered questions including about why India was buying more oil from Russia.

Lavrov said Jaishankar cited statistics that showed that the West has also increased its purchases of gas and oil from Russia, despite some of the restrictions that have been imposed. Lavrov said Jaishankar “went on to say that India will decide for itself how to trade with whom and how to defend its national interests.” “But the fact that the West is exhibiting its displeasure to powers – powers like China, like India – well, it shows their lack of erudition, their inability to partake in diplomacy, and also speak to the failure of political analysts.”

(With agency inputs)