New Delhi: Dr. S. Jaishankar, India's External Affairs Minister, defended the country's right to purchase discounted oil from Russia.

Many European nations and the United States have imposed sanctions on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine, but India is buying the oil Russia is offering at a steep discount.

Despite an appeal from his UK colleague, Liz Truss, for democracies to stand together against authoritarians, Jaishankar supported the country's right to do so.

Jaishankar also compared the West's fear over the invasion with what he regarded as the Taliban's apparent lack of enthusiasm in taking over Afghanistan, saying people felt motivated by the proximity of a catastrophe more than anything else.

During a visit to India, Truss stated repeatedly that she was not seeking to lecture the Indians or anyone else on how to respond to the Russian invasion, but rather to frame the conflict as authoritarians versus democracy, implying that India should be more fully engaged as the world's largest democracy.
He claimed that there appeared to be a campaign to skew India's perception of discounted Russian oil. "I was just reading a story today that said Europe bought, I believe, 15% more oil and gas from Russia in March than the previous month." "If you look at the major customers of Russian oil and gas, I believe the majority of them are in Europe," he remarked. "When oil costs rise. I believe it is normal for countries to go out and hunt for good deals on that thing."
Since Moscow's invasion on February 24, refiners in India, the world's third-largest oil importer and user, have been buying Russian oil through spot bids, taking advantage of steep discounts while other purchasers pull away. Since February 24, India has purchased at least 13 million barrels of Russian oil, compared to over 16 million barrels in all of 2021. There have been rumours of private warnings from the US to India not to use Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's visit to India to forge new deals that effectively backed or facilitated Putin's attack.

In New Delhi, Truss cautioned without naming India that oil and gas revenues were funding Vladimir Putin’s war machine, she took part at a policy exchange economic forum along with Jaishankar. 
"It is critical for European freedom and democracy that we oppose Putin and ensure that he loses in Ukraine," Truss said. "However, we believe we need to consider more broadly about the message it would convey around the world." What message does Putin's achievement convey to other aggressors throughout the world if he was successful in invading a sovereign nation? And I believe it is really significant that we are seeing an alliance with the G7, including Japan, in the sanctions imposed on Russia, as well as the weapons delivered to Ukraine in their struggle for freedom."
She said that they are also expecting countries like South Korea, Singapore, and Australia take part in those sanctions against Russia. "I believe that countries all over the world, regardless of size, status, or structure, recognise that there is a fundamental problem if an aggressor can get away with invading a sovereign nation, which violates international law and the UN charter."