We are not biggest buyer of Russian oil: Jaishankar

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday, clarified that it's China and not India, which is the largest buyer of oil from Russia. Jaishankar made the statement while addressing a press conference in the Russian capital Moscow.

Jaishankar had also held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov and later called on President Vladimir Putin. Putin is scheduled to visit India later this year.

"We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil, that is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG, that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South," he said as quoted by ANI.

And he added, "We are a country where the Americans have said for the last few years that we should do everything to stabilise the world energy market, including buying oil from Russia. Incidentally, we also buy oil from the US, and that amount has increased. So honestly, we are very perplexed at the logic of the argument that you (the media) had referred to…."

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The affable also took a jab at the Donald Trump administration saying, "We are very perplexed' by US imposing up to 50 per cent tariffs on India over oil imports from Russia."

He added that India also purchases oil from the US, and that amount has increased. Jaishankar said sustaining energy cooperation with Russia through trade and investments is also important.

Jaishankar also stressed the importance of addressing the trade imbalance.

"We reaffirmed our shared ambition to expand bilateral trade in a balanced and sustainable manner, including by increasing India's exports to Russia. This requires swiftly addressing non-tariff barriers and regulatory impediments, enhancing India's exports to Russia in sectors like agriculture, pharma, and textiles will certainly help correct the imbalance," he said.

The External Affairs minister during his three-day visit to Russia also co-chaired the 26th Session of the India-Russia Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation (IRIGC-TEC) and addressed the India-Russia Business Forum meeting in Moscow, further strengthening bilateral engagement.

With inputs from Agencies