Not in India's interest to increase Russian energy imports, Biden to PM Modi

Biden told Modi the United States stood ready to help India diversify its energy imports

President Joe Biden on Monday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to increase his country’s reliance on Russian oil and gas, officials said, part of a global effort by the United States to maintain economic pressure on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Biden also emphasised growing defense cooperation with India in a virtual meeting with Modi — a line US officials have increasingly highlighted in the hopes of convincing New Delhi to come off the fence over Russia’s invasion.

In the meeting between the two leaders, Biden offered to help Modi acquire oil and other energy from other sources. The United States and its allies have been working for months to deprive President Vladimir Putin of Russia of the financial resources generated from the sale of oil and gas around the world.

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But Biden stopped well short of pressuring India to stop buying Russian oil, which amounts to about 1% of its imports. And American officials said the president did not ask India to condemn Russia by name for the brutal military campaign against its neighbour, a step that India has been unwilling to take since the beginning of the invasion.

“The president made clear that he does not believe it’s in India’s interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities,” Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, told reporters after the leaders’ meeting, which lasted about an hour.

On Monday, Modi again declined to single out Russia by name even as he condemned the apparent human rights abuses in Bucha, which the United States and others have said are evidence of war crimes.

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India has long been reliant on Russia for military hardware, an important factor in the deep historic ties between the two countries. And so despite global condemnations of Russian aggression in Ukraine, Modi’s administration has tried to remain neutral — refraining from criticizing Russia, while calling for negotiations and engaging Ukraine with humanitarian assistance.

While American officials have been understanding the complexity of India’s balancing act, seeing New Delhi as an important ally in the face of an assertive China, they have at times expressed frustration that India’s stance is offering Putin some cover. Some US officials have warned of consequences if India expands trade with Russia, especially any increase in purchasing oil, as the West tries to tighten sanctions.

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