‘Europe doesn’t want more tariffs on India’

{ INTERVIEW } ELINA VALTONEN, FINLAND FOREIGN MINISTER

- Shashank Mattoo

Europe is not considering raising tariffs on India for buying Russian energy despite Washington's requests to place secondary tariffs, Finland's foreign minister Elina Valtonen told HT in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

Valtonen said that EU leaders were looking to cut, not raise tariffs on India, in an effort to increase bilateral trade. Valtonen also appreciated India’s expanded efforts to end the Ukraine war, which included a phone call between Indian PM Narendra Modi and Finland's President Alexander Stubb.

We've seen India step up its diplomacy on Ukraine with PM Modi speaking with top European leaders recently on ending the war. How do you see this?