NSA Ajit Doval in Russia amid Trump tariff menace: Key talks with Kremlin; will oil be on agenda? | India News

NEW DELHI: National Security Advisor Ajit Doval reached Moscow on Tuesday to carry talks on strategic partnership, defence, and safety cooperation between India and Russia, Russian information company TASS reported.His go to comes because the Trump-led US administration continues to challenge commerce threats to nations carefully aligned with Russia, together with India.This is a scheduled go to with discussions centered on defence cooperation between the 2 nations. “The current escalation of the geopolitical situation will also be discussed. Apart from that the topics will include such pressing matters as supplies of Russian oil [to India],” the supply informed TASS.Earlier this month, US President Donald Trump introduced plans to impose a 25 per cent tariff on India as a “penalty.” He additionally mentioned India and Russia might “take their dead economies down together,” prompting India to reiterate that it stays the world’s fastest-growing main economic system.Trump additional acknowledged that India has “always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia,” and is “Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China.”On Monday, the ministry of exterior affairs (MEA) described criticism from the US and EU over India’s imports of Russian oil as “unjustified,” declaring that Western nations had beforehand supported such commerce to stabilise international power markets and nonetheless proceed buying items and companies from Russia.“India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the MEA mentioned, noting that the US and EU have continued commerce with Russia, together with in power and key commodities, regardless of publicly opposing the Ukraine battle.The MEA additionally pointed to “double standards,” highlighting that EU commerce with Russia in 2024 was considerably greater than India’s.