India has continued to buy Russian oil as the United States and other nations have imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine. The official, during a briefing by the National Security Council after the meeting, described the conversation as “warm and productive” despite the differences. The official suggested that India could easily cut off Russian oil with little effect on its economy if it so wished – unlike countries such as Germany, which are much more dependent on Russian energy. “We know that India is not a big consumer of Russian oil. “Its current imports are about 1 to 2 percent of total energy imports,” the official said. “We were very clear that we managed to ban the import of oil and LNG and coal from Russia, but other countries have to make their own choices.” The official also said the government did not want to see India “accelerate or increase Russian energy imports”. The official said “India will make its own decisions” when pressed on whether Biden cited India’s neutral stance on the Russian invasion. The meeting between the two leaders comes as India comes under pressure from the US and Western countries to take a tougher line on Russia, a country with which it has long had strong ties. Pressure has intensified amid growing reports of crimes against civilians committed by Russian troops, including in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. India has explicitly avoided condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and more recently abstained from voting to suspend Russia’s participation in the United Nations Human Rights Council. Prior to the meeting, Monti told reporters that India was “very concerned” about reports of atrocities in Bhutan and condemned the killings, calling for an independent inquiry. “We have also stressed the importance of the security of civilians in Ukraine and the unhindered provision of humanitarian assistance to them,” Monti said. Finkenauer to challenge decision to keep Democrats out of Iowa qualifier Philly reinstates indoor mask mandate The meeting came ahead of a two-plus-two US-India summit led by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin with their Indian counterparts this week. At the White House press conference on Monday, press secretary Jen Psaki said the call was “constructive” and “immediate” without being “adversarial.” “At the same time, in this call, what the president did was consistent with what our deputy national security adviser did during his visit just a few weeks ago, to make clear what the impact of the course of our sanctions would be. “We expect everyone to abide by this, and while India imports only 1-2 percent of its energy from Russia, we made it clear and the president made it clear that we would be happy to help them differentiate that as well,” Psaki said. .
