New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Monday issued a sharp rebuke to the United States and European Union over their “selective” targeting of India, making clear that New Delhi’s concerns extend beyond recent American tariffs to include Western pressure over its purchases of Russian oil.
“In the recent past, both in New York last September and Paris this January, I have candidly shared our views on the Ukraine conflict and its implications. While doing so, I have also repeatedly underlined that the selective targeting of India is both unfair and unjustified. I do so again today,” Jaishankar said during talks with visiting Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski.
When Sikorski “completely agreed” with Jaishankar on the “selective targeting with tariffs”—a reference to duties imposed by US President Donald Trump, including 10 percent additional tariffs on 10 European countries over Greenland—Jaishankar went further in a rare public riposte.
He clarified that “selective targeting is not limited to tariffs” and that there have been “other forms” of such targeting against India, pointing to Western sanctions regimes on Russian oil trade.
Both the US and EU have intensified focus in recent months on sanctioning Russian oil companies, including Rosneft and Lukoil, and imposing secondary sanctions on firms—including Indian entities—for continued trading with Moscow.
Russia became India’s largest crude supplier since its war with Ukraine began in February 2022. The G7 countries—the US, Japan, Canada, UK, Italy, Germany, France and the EU—imposed a price cap to limit Moscow’s revenue from energy sales. While then US President Joseph Biden’s administration said the price cap was designed keeping India’s needs in mind, both Washington and Brussels had been urging New Delhi to limit its purchases.
As the US stepped up pressure, including an additional 25 penalty on tariffs imposed on India last August, New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude slowed. Simultaneously, Indian imports of US crude jumped nearly 60 percent between April and October 2025.
This is despite New Delhi repeatedly maintaining that it purchases energy from global markets based on its own needs.
Sikorski, whose country is one of the most vocal backers of Ukraine, has publicly said—including in Paris earlier this month—that Poland is pleased with India’s moves to curb Russian crude purchases.
In September 2025, Russian drones invaded Polish airspace, prompting deployment of the country’s Air Force to shoot them down amid fears of Moscow’s war expanding into EU territory.
On Monday, Jaishankar also took aim at Sikorski’s October visit to Islamabad, calling on Warsaw to show “zero tolerance for terrorism” and “not help fuel the terrorist infrastructure in our neighbourhood”. The external affairs minister said he hoped to “discuss” Sikorski’s recent visits to the region.
Sikorski travelled to Pakistan for a two-day visit on 23-24 October 2025. The joint statement released after his meeting with Pakistani counterpart Ishaq Dar indicated that Islamabad had briefed the Polish minister on the “Jammu and Kashmir dispute”, with both sides calling for a resolution based on “United Nations” principles.
India maintains that the dispute over its territorial integrity will be discussed and managed bilaterally with Pakistan, with no international mediation.
Sikorski visited Jaipur before arriving in New Delhi.
(Edited by Prerna Madan)