India's Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal confronted a British Minister, voicing concerns over the West's sanction policies, questioning why India was being "singled out" for dealing with Russia. Further, alleging that the European nations have secured "quiet exemptions."
A now viral video of the discussion shows Piyush Goyal and UK Trade Minister Douglas Alexander comparing sanctions linked to Rosneft (an oil giant owned by the Russian government). Goyal is winning praise on social media for his confrontation with the UK minister.
After his counterpart said that London and Berlin were able to resolve their energy supply issues, giving due credit to Washington's blessing, Goyal pointed out, "So, then why single out India?"
Following this reply, the British Minister was taken aback for a while, clarifying that the issue was "about a specific subsidiary related to Rosneft". He, however, appeared willing to hear and discuss India's concerns, adding, "Come and talk to us. My door is always open."
Goyal took it forward, stating that India also hosts subsidiaries of Rosneft, and called out the inconsistencies in the way sanctions are being applied.
The discussion underlines "double standards of the West", where European allies are provided flexibility under the US and EU sanction regimes, while the non-Western nations, including India, are pressurized to cut back their strategic autonomy.
All over, during the continuous sanction row, India has strictly maintained that it will continue buying Russian oil, defending that it does so purely on economic grounds, abiding by international law.
The video is surfacing while the Trump administration announced sanctions against major oil companies of Russia, calling it "a result of Moscow's lack of serious commitment to a peace process to end the war in Ukraine." The two sanctioned companies - Open Joint Stock Company Rosneft Oil Company (Rosneft) and Lukoil OAO (Lukoil) are the largest oil entities of Russia.
India is currently facing 50 percent tariffs by the US, imposed as a penalty for purchasing Russian oil. The US has, however, claimed that both India and China are now scaling back purchases at the request of Donald Trump.