Russia has mechanism to deal with US action against India for buying crude oil: Babushkin

RUSSIA has a "special mechanism" to confront any challenge arising out of the US slapping punitive measures against India for its procurement of Russian crude oil, Russian charge d’affaires Roman Babushkin said on Wednesday.

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The relations between New Delhi and Washington are on a downturn after US President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent including a 25 per cent additional duties for India's purchase of Russian crude oil.

At a media briefing, Babushkin projected the rapid upswing in his country's ties with New Delhi in several critical areas and said Russia has been a "partner of choice" for India’s requirement of various military platforms and hardware.

The Russian charge d’affaires described as “unjustified” the unrelenting American pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil and said such an approach as well as sanctions are detrimental to the global economic stability and energy security.

"It is a challenging situation for India. We are enjoying trust in our partnership with India and we are committed to address challenges that may come in the energy ties between the two countries,” Babushkin asserted, exuding confidence that India-Russia energy cooperation will continue to grow.