Energy needs our priority, no double standards please: India to Nato

MEA says securing India's energy needs is a top priority and cautions against double standards amid NATO threat of secondary sanctions over Russian oil imports

Just hours after North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) chief Mark Rutte warned that those doing business with Russia —especially in oil and gas — could be hit hard by secondary sanctions, India on Thursday shot back and cautioned against any “double standards” while asserting that securing energy needs was “an overriding priority” for it. “Securing energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us. In this endeavour, we are guided by what is there on offer in the markets, as also by the prevailing global circumstances,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. 

“We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter,” Jaiswal added. 

Nato Secretary General Mark Rutte had on Wednesday said that countries like India, China and Brazil could be hit very hard by secondary sanctions if they continued to do business with Russia. 

On India’s talks with China on the supply of critical minerals, especially rare earths, Jaiswal said the concerns of Indian industry are a matter of public record, and the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has flagged India’s concerns on it with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi at their meeting in Beijing earlier this week. 

As for India-US trade negotiations, Jaiswal said the talks were on and the two sides are trying to iron out issues. 

On India-European Union Free Trade Agreement, Jaiswal said the 12th round happened in Brussels from July 7 to July 11, and the next round of talks are scheduled to be held in September in New Delhi. 

The MEA spokesperson also took questions over a video purportedly showing an Indian woman being held by police authorities after she allegedly tried to shoplift items at a high-end store in the US. 

The US Embassy in New Delhi has issued an advisory saying that committing assault, theft or burglary in the US won’t just cause legal issues but could also lead to a visa being revoked and make that person “ineligible” for future US visas. 

Jaiswal said whether a person is living in any country, a citizen of that country or a foreign national, it is their responsibility to abide by the laws there. 

“Whenever our people go abroad, we urge them to  follow the laws of that country, so that they can build a good image for themselves, and project a good image of our country,” he said.