EAM Jaishankar, Rubio discuss impact of Russia-linked sanctions on India

By Michael Heath

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar held talks in New York to discuss the potential implications of sanctions targeting Russia, a key energy supplier to New Delhi. 

Under the Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act signed into law last week, President Donald Trump is able to impose tariffs on countries that purchase Russian crude. The move is designed to further curb Russian oil exports that help finance the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year. 

India, the world’s third-biggest crude buyer, has relied on Russia for more than half of its imports in some months recently to help counter high prices and continued disruptions to Middle East supplies. Moscow has said it’s willing to supply India with as much oil as it needs.

While still Russia’s top buyer of seaborne crude, India’s refiners have started leaning on the US, Brazil, Canada, Venezuela and Africa for additional and more varied supplies. 

But domestic anger in India is building over the sanctions law and threatens to throw up another hurdle to a broader trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington that remains in limbo.

Russia and India’s relations date back decades to the Cold War era, when the Soviet Union provided military backing and arms to the then-non-aligned New Delhi at a time when Washington was closely tied with neighboring Pakistan.

That has made for some awkward moments over Ukraine following the Kremlin’s unprovoked attack on its neighbor, just as New Delhi tries to bolster ties with Western nations which power India’s overseas sales. 

The US now accounts for roughly a fifth of India’s exports, making it by far New Delhi’s biggest market.