India stepped up its efforts to buy Russian oil, and Biden urged: Don't buy!

U.
S.
President Joe Biden asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to continue buying Russian oil in large quantities
.
Modi has not publicly pledged not to buy Russian oil, which has strained
relations between India and the United States.

Xinhua News Agency data map

In order to persuade India not to buy Russian oil, Biden desperately pulled relations

According to the Associated Press, White House press secretary Psaki said that on April 11, local time, Biden told Modi through a video conference call that the United States can help India diversify its energy supply, so India has no need to buy Russian oil
.
"The president made it clear that he does not think it is in India's interest
to accelerate or increase purchases of Russian oil," Psaki said.
”

Biden highlighted the defense partnership between the two countries in a video conference and said the United States and India would "continue to consult closely on the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict on food and other commodities
.
" Biden emphasized that "the roots of the U.
S.
-India partnership are the deep ties between our people, family ties, friendships, and shared values
.
"

On May 24, the leaders of the two countries will participate in the Quartet Summit in Tokyo, with Australia and Japan
on the other two sides.

Indian Foreign Minister: Leave us alone, Europe buys more

On the same day, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Indian Foreign Minister Subramanyam Jashankar
.

Austin called on India to act with the United States to sanction Russia
.

U.
S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at a press conference with India's foreign minister, has been trying to persuade India to take a tougher stance against Russia, saying Russia has caused India's resource strain and food shortages
.

However, Indian Foreign Minister Jashankar made it clear that Washington's focus on purchasing energy from Russia should be Europe, not India
.
"Please look at the data, I suspect that India's total purchases in a month are not as much as
Europe bought in an afternoon," he said.
”

In fact, India has previously bought very little oil from Russia, accounting for only about 3%
of its oil imports.

Indian media reported that buying Russian oil now will offer a discount
of 20% below the global benchmark price.

India's neutrality has raised concerns in the United States

India's neutral stance in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has raised concerns in the U.
S.
government and won praise from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who this month praised India for "judging the situation comprehensively and three-dimensionally, not just seeing one side.
"

And India has already put it into action
.
On Thursday, the U.
N.
General Assembly voted to suspend Russia's seat on the Human Rights Council, with 58 abstentions, while India also abstained
.

Last month, India's state-run oil company bought 3 million barrels of crude from Russia to meet its needs, rejecting calls from
the West not to buy Russian oil.
Moreover, India is not the only country buying Russian energy, and in Europe, these American allies, including Germany, continue to buy
.

According to the Press Trust of India news agency, Iraq is India's largest oil supplier with a share of 27%, while Saudi Arabia is in second place with about 17%, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 13% and the United States at 9%.