The sign of a great leader is to see the writings on the wall and adapt according to it, in a manner that is good for the Humanity. But the US is not one of them. It has been notorious for ditching its allies. For that very reason, it is hard for them to really grasp the meaning of friendship and in a way truly understand the India-Russia ties. Keeping the friendship aside and being pragmatic, India knows that in geopolitics there are no permanent allies or permanent foes. So, if the US administration really wants to replace Russia from the Indian energy basket, it has to offer real tangible solutions that are better and more affordable than their Russian counterparts.
Narcissist America never learns its lessons
It seems the US administration has a short term memory. They forget that threats and coercion tactics don’t go down well among India and its people. Preachy, self-centred sermons have boomeranged badly on their faces, yet the US is continuing its habit of persuasion and moral preaching to India. For that, Elizabeth Rosenberg, the assistant secretary for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, landed in India. She has a meeting planned with the Reserve Bank of India, Finance Ministry, Home Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry.
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The core agenda of this visit is claimed to be India’s oil import from Russia. Interestingly, according to some reports the US had imported oil from Russia after the Ukraine war started. Yet it is hypocritically asking India to ditch cheaper Russian oil and force Indians to suffer under US-caused inflation aka Bidenflation. The US Embassy spokesperson outlined this very purpose of the visit and said, “Ms Rosenberg’s travel is part of a continued (US) treasury effort to engage with partners and allies around the implementation and enforcement of the unprecedented multilateral sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia for its war against Ukraine”.
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This is not the first of its kind effort of persuasion or veiled threats. Earlier, A senior US official told Reuters on March 31 that a significant increase in Russian oil exports by India could expose New Delhi to “great risk” as Washington prepares to step up enforcement of sanctions against Moscow after its invasion of Ukraine. Further, the Deputy of NSA, Dilip Singh visited India and threatened “consequences” of evading sanctions and dealings with Russia. This only led to an egg on the US administration’s face and later being forced to soften their stand.
Shallow efforts of US administration and their false perspective that India needs US for countering Chinese aggression
If the US and its administration really intend to replace Russia from the Indian energy basket, then it has to provide oil at affordable rates including the shipment cost for a very long time. Is it doing anything in this regard? Hell no, nothing of this sort seems to happen on the ground. The fact is that the US is only resorting to rhetorics and has done nothing to replace Russian oil from the market. The Biden administration failed to bring Venezuela and Iranian oil to the market. In its ego and ulterior motives, it is pushing the World into chaos and anarchy.
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The steps of the Biden administration to endlessly continue the Russia-Ukraine war is causing sky high inflation and extremely high food prices, leaving poor nations to hunger and starvation. Further, the US, particularly its elites and media fraternity are trying to scare India by repeatedly mentioning China and the possibility of full scale war with the dragon. But it is forgetting that Big Powers don’t go to war hoping for someone to have their back, they know the contingencies of war and its consequences. Hence it is foolhardy for the US to think that India will beg and plead for US help in case of war with the expansionist dragon. India gave a bloody nose to the Chinese in 1967, the Dhoklam crisis and the Galwan Valley Clash.
This American official’s visit shows that America is having a bad time swallowing the bitter pill. They are still struggling to realise the rise of new India. They should at the earliest learn that India has never kowtowed and will never budge under their pressure tactics. The US should drop the thought that India will act like a puppet for its interests. India has a spine and a ‘unique’ way of running diplomacy. It decides key matters like Energy demands, weapons upgradation and global affairs, without coercion, in a manner that best suits our national interest.