“If I am smart enough...” EAM Jaishankar wins applause in Munich as he reaffirms India’s trade ties

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday reaffirmed India's stand and commitment to buy Russian oil despite respective sanctions on Moscow amid the military conflict with Ukraine, saying it should not be a problem for others.Speaking on the sidelines of the ongoing Munich security conference, Jaishankar said it's hard to have a unidimensional relationship in the contemporary world. Amid the global furore around the death of Russian activist and known Putin baiter, Alexei Navalny, in jail, Jaishankar made the remark in response to a query on how New Delhi was balancing its growing bilateral ties with Washington while continuing to trade with Moscow."Is that a problem, why should that be a problem? if I am smart enough to have multiple options, you should be admiring me. Is that a problem for others? I don't think so, suddenly in this case. We try to explain what are the different pulls and pressures that countries have. it's very hard to have that unidimensional relationship," Jaishankar said.

from Times of India https://ift.tt/ds1GkNJ