Russian FM Sergey Lavrov praises EAM Jaishankar on his earlier remark of West to mind its business

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov recently praised External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for asking the West to mind its business when he was asked about procuring oil from Russia post Ukraine war.

Recalling the event where Jaishankar had made the statement, Lavrov said, “My friend, Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jaishankar, was once at the UN, giving a speech. He was asked why they started buying so much oil from Russia. He advised them to mind their own business and reminded them at the same time how much oil the West had started buying and continued to buy oil from the Russian Federation. This is national dignity.”

Sergey Lavrov was speaking at World Youth Forum in Russia's Sochi on Monday, reported Russian news agency, Sputnik.

Last month, while speaking on the sidelines of Security Conference in Munich, Jaishankar was asked about India's continuing procurement of Russian oil amid Ukraine war, to which he said that there can’t be a unidimensional relationship in the modern world.

He defended India’s decision for procuring oil from Russia saying he is smart enough to have multiple options.

His comments had come against the backdrop of the disapproval from West on India's continued oil trade with Russia amidst conflict with Ukraine. As the war between Russia and Ukraine broke out, most Western countries imposed sanctions on Moscow and stopped buying crude Russian oil.

However, India refused to join the herd. Jaishankar also emphasized that the Narendra Modi government is just trying to get the best deal possible for its citizens and that they cannot afford high energy prices.

Regarding India’s take on Russia-Ukraine conflict, Jaishankar had said that India has always put emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy as this is not the era of war.

The foreign minister also called out Europe's "double standards" and said that it needs to grow out of the mindset that Europe's problems are the world's problems, but the world's problems are not Europe's problems.