A regular press meet at the Russian embassy in New Delhi turned cheerful when Deputy Chief of Mission, Roman Babushkin, greeted the media personnel in Hindi. “Shuruat karengey… Shree Ganesh Karte hain!” Babushkin said, as he welcomed people present at the media briefing.

Babushkin spoke on a number of issues, including the India-Russia partnership amid US President Donald Trump’s 25% penalty on New Delhi for buying oil from Moscow.

When asked about Russia’s support to India’s ambition to build an Iron Dome like security mechanism, the Deputy chief of the Russian mission said, “You mean Sudarshan Chakra? Next time ask me in Hindi, I can answer better”. PM Narendra Modi had announced the security setup during his Independence Day speech, stating that the country will have a robust security system in place by 2035.

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US pressurising India is ‘unjustified’: Babushkin

Babushkin addressed the issue of India buying Russian oil and the US’ opposition to it. He said that Russia is the largest producer of oil and India is the largest consumer. 

“Any kind of unilateral action leads to disruptions in supply chains, imbalance in pricing policies and destabilisation of global markets, endangering the energy security of developing countries. Hypothetically, if India refuses Russian oil, it will not lead to equal cooperation with the West in general because it is not in the Western nature, which was clearly demonstrated in recent years,” he said.

“They behave like neo-colonial powers that think of their own benefit. This pressure is unjustified and unilateral…” he added.

Trump earlier imposed a 25% tariff on Indian imports and levied an additional 25% penalty for buying Russian oil. However, on Tuesday, US White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration put pressure on Russia to come to the table to discuss the Ukraine conflict. Trump last week met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Alaska. Following the huddle, a high-level meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU leaders took place at White House.

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What India said on buying Russian oil

New Delhi earlier held its stance and said both the European Union and the US continue to trade with Russia on the sectors of their choice. Holding national interest as its top priority, India said that it would continue to act in a manner that benefits its economy and people.

This was after the EU last month sanctioned Russian-backed Nayara Energy in India, forcing the refiner to cut processing oil and discouraging companies from trading with it.