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External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar connected Saturday (February 14, 2026) denied that India’s strategical autonomy had been impacted due to the fact that of claims that it was reducing the magnitude of Russian lipid successful its vigor import premix owed to the caller commercialized statement with the United States.
“We are precise overmuch wedded to strategical autonomy,” said Mr. Jaishankar astatine an lawsuit connected India and Germany navigating planetary uncertainty with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul astatine the Munich Security Conference.
He was responding to a question from the moderator, Financial Times Editor Roula Khalaf, on whether the precocious announced commercialized model with the medication of U.S. President Donald Trump had impacted India’s autonomy, forcing it to trim purchases of Russian oil, which had skyrocketed pursuing Russia’s penetration of Ukraine successful 2022.
Mr Jaishankar insisted that the authorities could proceed to exert strategical autonomy arsenic it wished.
“We bash and we’ve ever done,” helium said, adding that the conception chopped crossed the governmental spectrum successful India.
The Narendra Modi-led authorities has travel nether fire, including from Opposition parties, for acquiescing to Mr. Trump’s demands that New Delhi halt purchasing Russian oil.
Mr. Trump had insisted earlier successful February that India had agreed to halt buying lipid from Russia arsenic portion of a larger commercialized agreement, and this had meant helium would chopped tariff chopped connected Indian exports to the U.S. (including eliminating a 25% ‘penalty’ for trading with Moscow).
Mr. Jaishankar suggested that lipid companies successful India, Europe and different places looked astatine marketplace factors to find what is successful their champion interest.
“So I would say..., we person a presumption connected that. I don’t want to rehash the polemics of that,” helium said, presumably referring to differences between India and the European Union (E.U.) connected the India’s narration with Russia, including refined petroleum products coming retired of India, based connected Russian crude.
“I deliberation that signifier has passed contiguous when, you know, coming to Munich, precise honestly, I’m benignant of coming present successful the afterglow of an India EU FTA and a precise palmy sojourn of [ German ] Chancellor [Friedrich] Merz [ to India],” the curate said.
India could inactive marque decisions independently and they could sometimes beryllium successful disagreement with the views of others , helium said.
Comment |India tested, from U.S. sanctions to one-sided commercialized deal
Agenda-based groupings not caller for India: Jaishankar connected Carney speech
On the code of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney astatine Davos successful January, wherever Mr. Carney called for like-minded mediate powers to travel unneurotic to antagonistic Great Power, Mr. Jaishankar suggested that was “new ground” for Canada due to the fact that it is simply a pact ally. India was successful immoderate lawsuit moving successful galore groups with antithetic countries, helium said, citing the Quad and BRICS groupings among others, arsenic examples.
An “ agenda-based coming unneurotic of countries connected a regular basis” was “very overmuch the hallmark of Indian diplomacy” for astir 2 decades, Mr. Jaishankar added.
On the India Europe Middle East Corridor (IMEC) , Mr Jaishankar said the task was progressing but not astatine the gait that was initially expected owed to the struggle successful West Asia.
Responding to a question connected however India sees IMEC contributing to Palestinian interests and determination stability, Mr Jaishankar said that the intent of the task was to code connectivity and not the contented of Palestine, though India had a “longstanding” presumption connected the second .
“I bash deliberation each of those issues [ i.e., connectivity and Palestine] is important, but I would not instrumentality 1 arsenic the solution for the other,” helium said.
‘Stay tuned’ connected Quad Summit: Jaishankar
On the Quad, Mr. Jaishankar said, the summit, which was meant to beryllium held successful 2025 successful India was not cancelled, due to the fact that it had not been specifically scheduled.
“The information that the Quad did not instrumentality spot astatine the acme level itself, I wouldn’t implicit work it. So bash enactment tuned,” helium said.
There had been speculation that a declining level of involvement successful the Quad from the existent Trump medication positive diplomatic difficulties betwixt India and the U.S., centred astir the 50% U.S. tariff connected India and their inability to adjacent a commercialized deal, had resulted successful the Quad Summit not taking place.
Mr. Jaishankar pointed to the information that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s archetypal [foreign-level] engagement aft being appointed was with his Quad counterparts and that determination was a 2nd gathering successful July 2025.
“I privation to guarantee you that the different parts of the Quad, assorted mechanisms, each of those are going on,” helium added.
