Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Monday said that he sought suggestions from India on how they were managing their purchase of oil from Russia, noting that the energy issue had become a real problem for Bangladesh too.
‘We are dependent on energy (import). Russia offered us energy and wheat. It has become a real problem. We are afraid of it (energy crisis). We sought their (India) suggestions on how they are doing it. This is more of a friendly discussion,’ he told reporters, apparently keeping the fear of sanctions in mind.
Momen attended the two-day NADI Conclave in Guwahati on May 28-29 together with his Indian counterpart S Jaishankar.
The Indian government has defended the move to buy Russian oil, saying what it buys from Russia in a month is less than what Europe buys from Russia in an afternoon, according to BBC.
As calls continue for India to keep its distance from Moscow over the Ukraine issue, its oil purchases from Russia have more than doubled from last year, reports BBC.
India has taken advantage of discounted prices to ramp up oil imports from Russia at a time when global energy prices have been rising.
Without naming any country, Momen said, ‘You are seeing that they keep bossing us and you (journalists) also encourage them. Every day, they come up with new issues. We used to call them development partners. They don’t pay for the development but keep giving advice.’
Momen also claimed that to impede the development, they put forward many things and add various conditions to create instability. ‘These are not acceptable.’
