Western sanctions threat against India is ‘glaring hypocrisy’ – Russian envoy
Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov has accused NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte of “glaring hypocrisy” for threatening New Delhi with secondary sanctions for its Russia ties, while shielding the bloc’s own economic ties with the sanctioned nation.
In an op-ed with the Economic Times on Sunday, Alipov said, “This glaring hypocrisy exposes the West’s fundamental double standards.”
“Western powers do not want to deprive themselves of the benefits of trade with Russia, yet insist others do exactly that for NATO’s objective of defeating Russia – whatever the cost, especially if non-NATO countries bear the burden, whether they want to or not.”
Last week, Rutte warned India, China, and Brazil of “consequences” if they continue to do business with Russia, after US President Donald Trump raised the issue of secondary sanctions on BRICS nations.
”My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the President of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard,” Rutte told reporters.
Alipov said Rutte’s comments raise serious concerns about NATO’s overreach: “Why is the head of a transatlantic military alliance threatening India with American economic sanctions?”
Since 2022, India has significantly ramped up oil purchases from Russia and now ranks as its fourth largest trade partner.
Alipov noted that while the West calls for Russia to be isolated, it continues to engage in energy trade with Moscow. “What is striking is that even while sanctioning India today and threatening even more severe measures tomorrow – Western countries themselves continue to buy Russian oil and oil products,” he said.
He defended Russia’s energy ties with India, arguing that Russian oil imports support India’s energy security, create jobs, and help stabilize global oil prices, which Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar previously noted.
