'We should keep our relationship with Russia going, see how interest of Indian people is best served': Jaishankar

In the aftermath of the Ukraine war, India-Russia trade has witnessed a steep hike, said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, underlining that India’s diplomatic relations were there to proffer the interests of the Indian people. “Our (India’s) trade before the Ukraine conflict was about 12-14 billion dollars, our trade last year was 40 billion dollars,” said Jaishaknar while interacting with youngsters at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), New Delhi ‘Russia turning more towards Asia’ Jaishankar said Russia’s main economic partners were the Western countries, but after the Ukraine conflict, that had drastically shifted. “Russia is now turning more and more towards Asia,” he said. The EAM said people in India should de-hyphenate Russia’s relations with India and other countries. “We should keep our own relationship with Russia going and see how the interest of the Indian people is best served,” Jaishankar said.

#WATCH | External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar says, "Russia's main economic partner was the Western countries, after the Ukraine conflict that way was closed. Russia is turning towards Asia...Our trade before the Ukraine conflict was around 12-14 billion dollars, our trade… pic.twitter.com/rFHGR4lDQx

— ANI (@ANI) July 3, 2023

How India’s foreign policy decisions affect daily lives? During the interaction, the foreign minister explained how India’s foreign policy decisions touch all of us in our daily lives. “Without a good foreign policy, the petrol price would be much higher, the cooking oil price would be much higher, the (price of) the next iPhone you buy would be much higher,” the minister said. Why India continues to import oil from Russia? Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last February, India has strongly defended its decision of importing crude oil from Moscow. Russia, however, has been at the receiving end of US-led sanctions regime by Western countries. Jaishankar explained: India has a per capita income of $2,000 and it is the obligation of the government, as well as its moral duty, to ensure that people of the country get the best deal possible. Last week, Jaishankar had said India’s strong relations with Russia or any other country should not become an obstacle in equally strong relations with the US. “It is not in our (India’s) interest to be tied down to exclusive relationships,” Jaishankar said, responding to a question of “divided loyalties” and India-US relations. “Because we have a tradition of strong ties with Russia, that should not become a burden or an obstacle to an equally strong relationship with the United States,” the minister had said. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.