The government has conveyed its displeasure to the American Consulate General in Mumbai over its recent letter to Mumbai Port Authority asking it not to allow ships from Russia to dock in the port in view of the sanctions imposed by the United States on the former Soviet Union nation.
New Delhi has advised the US Consulate in Mumbai to communicate with the Government of India through the appropriate channel, Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said.
“The appropriate channel is through the MEA and the US Embassy in New Delhi,’’ Bagchi told journalists on Thursday.
India over the past few months drew flak from the US and the other western nations, not only for refusing to join them in condemning Russia for its aggression against Ukraine, but also for continuing trade with the former Soviet Union nation, circumventing sanctions imposed on it. India also increased oil and coal imports from Russia.
The American Consulate General in Mumbai wrote directly to the Port Authority of Mumbai asking it to adhere to the US sanctions on Russia and not to allow any ship from the former Soviet Union nation to dock.
The Mumbai Port Authority forwarded the letter to the Ministry of Shipping, which then sent it to the MEA.
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