00:00India and the United States have discussed sanctions that could be leveled against countries that engage economically with either Russia
00:07or Iran,
00:09with Washington saying that it remains well-positioned to help regional partners address energy security challenges.
00:16Now, it's the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, who met with External Affairs Minister S.J. Shankar on
00:22Wednesday
00:22on the margins and sidelines of the 81st session of the U.N. General Assembly.
00:28Rubio and J.J. Shankar, in fact, went ahead and exchanged views on developments in the Middle East and beyond.
00:33The two also discussed the sanctions that could be leveled against states that engage economically with Russia and Iran.
00:40Now, the Secretary has emphasized that the United States remains well-positioned to help the regional partners address their energy
00:46security challenges.
00:48It's a statement coming in from the U.S. State Department itself.
00:51Now, let me take this back to Rohit Sharma, who's joining us back on the podcast.
00:55Rohit, this currently remains to be one of the most crucial aspects defining the India-U.S. trade ties
01:03and even in general the relationship that the two share, the strategic relationship that the two share.
01:09Now, this entire matter, we had expected this would be brought up on the sidelines of the UNGA and it
01:15has been.
01:16But the concerns still remain with regards to the sanctions that the United States have spoken about against countries that
01:25economically trade and have relations with Russia and Iran.
01:29And this comes in at a time, of course, when U.S. and India on their own have also been
01:33trying to figure out a trade deal between the two.
01:37Well, true, you know, and I think the fact of the matter is, you know, I think this is a
01:41great example of when the leaders in the past have been confronted with some challenging issues.
01:46I've said that both the sides are able to express themselves freely in a friendly manner.
01:51And there will always be times when, you know, they would not agree on a lot of things, but they
01:55can still discuss about it, talk about it.
01:57So I think today was an example of that where India was able to bring up the Russia sanctions bill,
02:02tell Secretary Rubio that it could have an impact.
02:05In fact, India also released a very strong worded statement a couple of days ago saying this could, if, you
02:10know, that 100 percent tariff is put on India,
02:12it could actually impact the bilateral relationship between India and the United States.
02:16But again, you know, I think that's a power the president does have.
02:19He has indicated he may use it, he may not use it, we do not know.
02:23But that's where I think the bilateral relationship is concerned.
02:25I think it's moving in the right direction.
02:27We will be seeing Secretary Marco Rubio in India in October.
02:30He's coming to India.
02:32Then we will also see, you know, Jay Shankar come back to America in October for the G20 meeting.
02:38Fiyush Goyal, the Commerce Minister, is going to be in America in a couple of days from now.
02:42And he probably would also be talking about trade.
02:44So I think, you know, there is, yes, that threat that might be there for some time unless and until
02:51the time comes when the Russia war ends.
02:53But I think, you know, from a strategic point, I think both nations do realize that there are so many
02:58other things of convergence.
03:00And they are moving and keeping momentum on those areas.
03:04Right, Rohit, I'd request you to stay back with us.
03:07Viewers, let me quickly take you through some more finer details about what exactly does it mean when we speak
03:14of this Sanctions Act?
03:15What is the Russia and Iran Sanctions Act indeed?
03:17And what all does it entail?
03:19Number one, of course, it targets Russia's oil and gas revenues.
03:23That is, at the top of the very will, the very purpose of the very will.
03:28Now, it allows tariffs of up to 100% on major buyers.
03:33And this is one of the main concerns that's been flagged by some of the crucial trading partners of the
03:39United States.
03:39Because they all have diversified trade interests with other countries, which includes Russia and Iran as well.
03:47Now, India and China are among the nations that could be targeted.
03:51And they are at the top of that list in terms of countries that have the energy needs met by
03:57Russia.
03:58Now, targets countries at the same time that help Russia evade the sanctions as well.
04:04And, of course, at the end of the day, it gives Trump more power to hit Russia's trading partners.
04:10That is also another purpose of the very will, to get a leverage, to give a certain amount of leverage
04:16to any U.S. president, for that matter, even in the upcoming times, against Russia.
04:21On the other hand, let's also take a look at India's Russian oil dependence.
04:25How far does it go?
04:272.1 million barrels per day.
04:30And this is India's Russian oil imports in just the month of August.
04:3445% of Russia's share of India's August oil imports.
04:38That is the amount that it covers.
04:41Second largest buyer, India's rank after China in Russian oil purchases.
04:47And we have been very clear on that one stance.
04:50Especially at a time when the world witnessed a major fuel supply disruption.
04:56India's dependence on the Russian oil supply was even more crucial at this given point.
05:022.82 million barrels per day.
05:04That's the record Russian oil imports that took place in the month of July.
05:10So, two consecutive months, we see more than 2 million barrels per day.
05:16And that is where our energy supply and the needs there is met by Russia.
05:241.OOOOOOOOO
