‘India Buys Less Oil From Russia Than What Europe Does In Afternoon’

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What has happened?

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden met virtually on Monday morning, As External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh were in Washington for the fourth ‘2+ 2’ foreign and defence ministry dialogueswith their U.S. counterparts.

Jaishankar was addressing a joint news conference with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh along with their American counterparts Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, after the conclusion of the 2+2 ministerial.
India’s total purchase of oil from Russia in a month is probably less than what Europe does in an afternoon, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Monday.

“I noticed you refer to oil purchases. If you are looking at energy purchases from Russia, I would suggest that your attention should be focused on Europe.
We do buy some energy, which is necessary for our energy security. But I suspect looking at the figures, probably our total purchases for the month would be less than what Europe does in an afternoon,“ Jaishankar told a reporter when asked about India’s oil purchase from Russia.
In a news briefing on Monday afternoon, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden told Modi that his administration could help India diversify its oil imports – But that it was not in New Delhi’s interests to increase energy imports from Moscow.
The Biden administration already made it clear that it does not want to see a significant uptick in Russian energy imports by India, which has purchased at least 13 million barrels of discounted Russian crude since the country invaded Ukraine in late February.

Jaishankar told reporters that now there is an expanding India-US energy relationship which didn’t exist some years ago.
The United States is the second largest LNG supplier to India and the fourth or the fifth largest crude oil supplier.
“A big partner in the renewables side,” he said.

The war between Russia and Ukraine featured prominently in the opening remarks of both.
The government’s readout of the meeting said the two leaders had discussed Ukraine at the meeting, as well as regional and global issues, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the global economy, climate and “ recent developments in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region”.
Speaking to reporters on a briefing call, a Senior U.S. administration official said that developments in Sri Lanka and Pakistan had been “touched on” but not discussed in a detailed manner.

Modi, described the situation in Ukraine as “very worrying” and said he had spoken, several times, with both Zelenskyy and Putin and had not just urged peace, but also direct talks between them.
PM Narendra Modi, who did not name Russia, called the “killings of innocent civilians” in Ukraine’s Bucha city “very worrying”, and said India immediately condemned the killings and called for an independent probe.
This is the first time the Prime Minister has spoken on the Bucha killings.
India’s unwillingness to call out Russia by name for its attack on Ukraine has not gone down well in Washington, But U.S. officials have also said that they hoped countries that have relationships with Moscow might leverage them to bring about a resolution to the situation.
“I want to welcome India’s humanitarian support for the people Ukraine, who are suffering a horrific assault,” Mr. Biden said.

Biden said he was looking forward to meeting Modi in Japan around May 24 for the Quad leaders’ summit.
Modi told Biden, “this year, India is celebrating the 75th anniversary of its independence. And we are also celebrating the 75th anniversary of our diplomatic ties. I am confident that friendship with the United States will remain an integral part of India’s development journey over the next 25 years,” he said.

Q) Which of the following is largest river system in the United States?