US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has appealed to European countries to stop the purchase of oil and natural gas from Russia immediately and impose strict ban. He said on the oil imports from Russia in India that Washington has taken tough steps on the issue, which is being tried to fix, but President Donald Trump and the right to strict action. Rubio’s statement indicates that the Trump administration may consider giving India a relief from additional tariffs.
Marco Rubio’s statement came after his meeting with India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, where both sides agreed to strengthen bilateral relations. Rubio said in an interview, ‘I think it is important for Europe to ban Russia. Currently, some countries in Europe are buying oil and natural gas on a large scale from Russia, which is ridiculous. They are demanding more ban on Russia from America, but are not taking enough steps themselves. So they need to do more.
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America’s relations with India are important
Rubio said, ‘The steps we have taken in the case of India are expected to fix. But President Trump has the ability to do more, and he is considering taking more steps, looking at the current situation. The statement came at a time when Rubio made S.S. Had a meeting with Jaishankar. According to the US State Department, Rubio said after the meeting that ‘relations with India are important for America’.
He appreciated the continuous cooperation of the Government of India on issues like trade, defense, energy, pharmaceuticals, important minerals. Foreign ministers of both countries agreed to continue cooperation through quad to promote free and open Indo-Pacific sector. The meeting was increased by the US after an increase of $ 1,00,000 (about Rs 88 lakh) in 25 percent of additional tariffs (total 50 percent) and H-1B visa fee imposed on India due to oil purchases from Russia, which became effective from September 21.
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What happened in the meeting of Jaishankar and Rubio?
H-1B visa fees and high rates of tariffs are affecting Indian professionals and exporters. Jaishankar discussed these issues in the meeting, and the two sides emphasized the target of making bilateral trade up to $ 500 billion by 2030. It was also agreed to intensify the ongoing business talks under the leadership of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal.
The US has increased diplomatic and economic pressure on India to reduce oil imports from Russia. But Foreign Minister S.K. Jaishankar has already clarified that India buys Russian oil to keep its energy security and global oil market stable. Jaishankar will favor India in the United Nations General Assembly on 27 September.
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