India’s Reply to USA and EU: Stop the Hypocrisy Over Russian Oil Trade

New Delhi | Dated: August 5, 2025 | Bhartarticles Geopolitics News

In light of recent criticism from the United States and the European Union regarding India’s continued oil trade with Russia, it is time for a clear, unequivocal, and fact-based response. India rejects the misplaced moral posturing and selective outrage from the West and stands firmly by its sovereign right to pursue strategic autonomy and economic security.

1. The West Encouraged India’s Russian Oil Imports – Until It Didn’t

When the Ukraine conflict began in 2022, global oil prices spiked and traditional suppliers redirected their crude to Europe to meet the continent’s urgent energy needs. At that moment of global uncertainty, the United States actively encouraged India to buy Russian oil to ensure energy market stability. This was not merely tolerated—it was welcomed.

Yet, after stabilizing their own energy supply lines, the very same Western powers have now changed their tone and begun targeting India, portraying its imports as irresponsible or politically insensitive. This is not diplomacy — it is duplicitous gaslighting.

2. India’s Energy Trade Is a Necessity, Not a Choice

India is the world’s third-largest energy consumer and imports over 85% of its crude oil. With a population of 1.4 billion, ensuring predictable, affordable, and reliable energy is not an option — it is an obligation.

Unlike the EU or the U.S., India’s trade with Russia is not a matter of convenience or political leverage. It is a matter of survival and sovereign necessity.

India has not violated any sanctions. It continues to engage in transparent, rules-based trade with all global partners — including Russia — as per national interest.

3. Let’s Talk Numbers: The West’s Trade with Russia Dwarfs India’s

Before pointing fingers, the United States and Europe should look in the mirror. Their own trade data with Russia exposes a shocking level of hypocrisy:

🔹 EU-Russia Trade in 2024

• €67.5 billion in goods trade
• €17.2 billion in services (2023)
• 16.5 million tonnes of Russian LNG imported in 2024 – a new record

Trade wasn’t limited to energy. It included:

• Fertilizers
• Iron & Steel
• Chemicals
• Machinery & Transport Equipment

🔹 U.S.-Russia Trade

The United States, while issuing moral statements, continues to import:

• Uranium Hexafluoride for its nuclear industry
• Palladium for its EV and high-tech sectors
• Fertilizers and chemicals essential for agriculture and manufacturing

If trade with Russia is immoral, then why is the West still doing it at record levels?

4. Strategic Autonomy Is Not Up for Debate

India is not a client state of any power bloc. We are a proud, independent democracy that determines its own national interest.

The days of moral lecturing by former colonial powers and Cold War superpowers are long gone. India does not need approval from Washington or Brussels to make decisions that impact its people.

Let us be absolutely clear:

India will engage with any nation, including Russia, when it serves our strategic, economic, and developmental interests. No amount of pressure will change that.

5. Western Exceptionalism Must End

The fundamental problem with the West’s approach is this: “Rules for thee, not for me.”

• When Europe buys Russian LNG, it’s “economic pragmatism.”
• When India buys discounted Russian oil, it’s “undermining the global order.”
• When America imports uranium from Russia, it’s “national interest.”
• When India imports crude, it becomes “a geopolitical issue.”

This is not diplomacy. This is naked hypocrisy, and India refuses to accept such double standards any longer.

6. India’s Global Role Is Evolving – Accept It

India is not just a regional power — it is a responsible global stakeholder. From peacekeeping to climate action, from digital public infrastructure to vaccine diplomacy, India has walked the talk.

India has consistently:

• Called for dialogue and diplomacy in Ukraine
• Respected international law
• Maintained humanitarian neutrality while upholding economic necessity

Unlike the West, India does not weaponize trade or sanction diplomacy to pursue narrow political agendas.

Conclusion: India’s Path Is Its Own

To the U.S. and the EU, India says this with respect but with firmness:

“You cannot define our interests for us. You cannot set standards that you yourselves do not follow. And you certainly cannot lecture us on morality while profiting from the very same trade you criticize.”

India’s foreign policy is not shaped by fear or favor, but by strategic clarity and national responsibility. We will trade with the world — including Russia — as per India’s needs, not Western approval.

Let it be known:

• India will not apologize for prioritizing its people.
• India will not be bullied into economic submission.
• And India will not be silent in the face of hypocrisy.

It’s time for the West to move beyond selective morality and embrace the reality of a multipolar, sovereign world — one in which India stands tall, proud, and uncompromised.

Reference: https://www.mea.gov.in/Speeches-Statements.htm?dtl/39936/Statement_by_Official_Spokesperson