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External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday(August 21) met Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to a PTI report, the two leaders are understood to have discussed ways to further expand India-Russia ties.

The meeting comes hours after Jaishankar refuted US President Donald Trump’s claim that India buys a huge amount of oil from Russia, stating that it was China which is the largest buyer of Russian oil.

Also Read: Doing more, doing differently should be our mantras: Jaishankar on boosting India-Russia ties

Refutes Trump on Russian oil import

Earlier in the day, speaking to reporters in Moscow, Jaishankar emphasised that India also does not lead in Russian LNG purchases, but the European Union does. He also said that the post-2022 trade surge with Russia can be attributed to “some countries to the South.”

The Minister expressed bewilderment at Trump’s logic, noting that the US itself encouraged India to stabilise world energy markets, including purchasing Russian oil. He said that India also buys a significant amount of oil from America, making the tariff argument perplexing.

These comments come amid strained US-India relations following Trump’s 25 per cent retaliatory tariffs on Indian goods, which, combined with earlier reciprocal tariffs, pushed total US tariff rates to 50 per cent.

Also Read: Jaishankar rebuts Trump, says China is Russia’s top oil buyer

Strengthening Russia-India ties

The meeting with Putin came hours after Jaishankar held wide-ranging talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that largely focused on expanding the trade ties between the two countries.

Jaishankar told Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that both nations share goals of maximising complementarity amid shifting global economic landscapes. He pointed out the continuous high-level engagement through multilateral events, including recent BRICS and SCO summits.

The Minister emphasised preparing for the upcoming annual summit, building on the July 22 Annual Summit and subsequent Kazan meeting, while highlighting recent visits by NSA Ajit Doval and Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnav to strengthen the special strategic partnership.

“We believe that relations between India and Russia have been among the steadiest of the major relationships in the world after the Second World War,” Jaishankar said at a joint media briefing with Lavrov.

“Geo-political convergence, leadership contacts and popular sentiment remain its key drivers,” he said.

The External Affairs Minister landed in Moscow on Tuesday to fine-tune various elements of President Putin’s visit to India either in November or December.

(With agency inputs)