'Perplexed at the logic' : Jaishankar on US penal tariffs

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov reviewed the entire gamut of India-Russia bilateral relations during their meeting in Moscow on Friday. In a joint press briefing after the talks, Dr Jaishankar highlighted that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships of the world after the Second World War. He added that geopolitical convergence, leadership contacts and popular sentiments remain the key drivers of India-Russia partnership. He said India is “very perplexed at the logic of the argument”, when asked about the US government's assertion that penal tariffs have been imposed on India for buying oil from Russia despite its war with Ukraine. In response to a question at a joint press briefing with Lavrov, Jaishankar made it clear that “We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG, that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the south.”

Moscow | During a press briefing, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar says, "...We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG, that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge… pic.twitter.com/pbH06HtTwK

— ANI (@ANI) August 21, 2025

Both Ministers reaffirmed shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India’s exports to Russia. Both Ministers also spoke about connectivity initiatives, including the International North South Transport Corridor, the Chennai Vladivostok Eastern Maritime Corridor and cooperation in the northern sea route. Dr Jaishankar remarked that these corridors promise to deepen economic linkages, reduce transit times and expand trade access across Eurasia and beyond. He stated that defence and military technical cooperation also remains robust, and Russia supports India’s Make In India goals including joint production and technology transfer.