Asked India to buy Russian oil, then hit us with tariffs: Jaishankar on US flip-flops

📌 Summary:

• EAM S Jaishankar criticised the US''s inconsistent stance on India''s Russian oil purchases — Washington once encouraged New Delhi to buy Russian crude to stabilise markets, then later imposed tariffs over the same issue (speaking at the Kultaranta Talks, Finland)
• His core argument: India buys oil on "cost and availability", not on a "great principle"; in 2022, with Europeans diverting Middle East oil to themselves, much available crude was Russian, so circumstances pushed India that way
• He noted the US itself, in 2022, asked India to buy Russian oil to stabilise the market and prevent a global inflation spike after Western sanctions on Moscow
• Strategic-autonomy framing: Jaishankar pushed back on charges of being "too sympathetic to Russia", cautioning against a selective moral lens on global trade/energy security
• Sharp remark on Western arms: "no European country has ever been attacked with Indian weapons", but European weapons have been used against India — underlining double standards
• Part of a series of candid interventions across Europe defending India''s sovereign policy choices on energy and strategic autonomy

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 IR — India-US relations, strategic autonomy, energy diplomacy, and India''s position on the Russia-Ukraine conflict; Western "double standards" debate.

📝 Prelims Facts:

• Forum: Kultaranta Talks, Finland; panel included Finland''s FM Elina Valtonen and UAE''s Assistant FM Lana Nusseibeh
• India''s stated oil-purchase principle: "cost and availability"
• Context: Western sanctions on Russia (2022) reshaped global crude flows

🔑 Key Term: Strategic Autonomy — India''s policy of making independent choices (here on energy sourcing) based on national interest rather than alignment with any bloc.