New Delhis long-standing relationship with Moscow is anything but short-term opportunism, Kanwal Sibal has said

US criticism of India's growing ties with Russia and China is "absurd," former Indian Foreign Secretary Kanwal Sibal told RT on Monday.

Last week, White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro accused India of "getting in bed with authoritarians" for its increased diplomatic engagement with China and itsgrowing friendshipwith Russia.

"The absurdity of his claims is that [US President Donald] Trump himself has engaged with [Russian] President Vladimir Putin," Sibal said. "They met in Alaska where they seriously discussed not only ending the [Ukraine] conflict but also normalizing ties. At the same time, Trump has reached out to China, paused tariffs, and even said he wants to visit Beijing. Is Navarro listening to his own president?"

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Tianjin for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit and his bilateral talks with Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping have received significant coverage in the Western media.

Navarro claimed on Monday that it was a "shame to see Modi getting in bed with Putin and Xi."

Sibal, who has served as India's ambassador to Russia, said New Delhi's longstanding relationship with Moscow cannot be equated with opportunistic alignments.

"Russia has never sanctioned us, whereas the US has sanctioned India for decades - and now again for buying oil and defense equipment from Moscow," he pointed out. "What signal is the US sending? That we can't fully rely on them, even though our relations are expanding and valuable."

The former diplomat also dismissed Western criticism of India's imports of Russian crude. "We bought Russian oil from the spot market. No law of any kind had been violated. Frankly, it's a joke. The EU, the US, and even Ukraine have purchased Russian oil," he remarked.

Responding to the US imposing 50% tariffs on most Indian imports, Sibal said New Delhi was looking for a fair trade deal.

"Trump wants a totally one-sided deal with India, like the ones he has with the EU, Japan, and South Korea, and to show his people that tariffs are working," he said. "What we want is a fair and equally beneficial deal."

(RT.com)