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External Affairs Ministry today said India has established economic relations with Russia and focus is on stabilising these relations in the current circumstances. Replying to a query on US Deputy NSA Daleep Singh’s remarks on India’s trade with Russia, Ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, India has been very open about it and clear regarding its position. He emphasised that energy flows to Europe are continuing, and fertiliser purchasing has been insulated. He stressed that political colouring should be not be attributed to India’s actions.
On Sri Lanka, Bagchi said India is watching the developments closely as it is a neighbour and a close friend. He said that in order to help mitigate the economic situation in the neighbouring nation, India has extended assistance worth about 2.5 billion dollars in the past couple of months, including credit facilities for fuel and food. He informed that since mid-March, over 270 thousand metric tonnes of diesel and petrol have been supplied to Sri Lanka. In addition, 40 thousand tonnes of rice have been supplied under the recently extended one billion dollar credit facility.
Bagchi said the relationship between India and Sri Lanka is rooted in shared civilisation values and aspirations of the people, and cooperation based on commonality and interest has been strengthened in recent months. He added that India stands ready to continue working with Sri Lanka for rapid post-COVID economic recovery, and this is in line with India’s neighbourhood first policy.
