Jairam Ramesh slams US' 'capitulation certificate' to PM Modi on oil

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh slammed the White House for giving a 'capitulation certificate' to PM Modi, citing a spokesperson's 'good actor' remark. Ramesh said India was 'rewarded' with a 30-day waiver to buy Russian oil for 'behaving well'.

Ramesh Slams 'Capitulation Certificate' Remark

Congress MP Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday said that after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has now given a "capitulation certificate" to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, referring to her India being a 'good actor" remark.

Ramesh said that according to White House spokesperson, the PM Modi government "behaved well" and "received a reward" to buy Russian oil for a period of 30 days. "According to her, the Modi Govt behaved well by agreeing to stop imports of oil from Russia, and as a reward, it has now been allowed to do so for a period of 30 days," he said in a post on X.

White House Explains 30-Day Waiver

The White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, during a media briefing on Tuesday, said that the United States had "permitted" India to temporarily purchase Russian oil in the wake of the disruptions to global energy supplies amid the conflict in West Asia.

When asked whether she had spoken to the US President about oil-sanction waivers to India in the wake of the developing security situation in West Asia, Leavitt responded, saying that the decision comes as India has been a "good actor", and while the measure is short-term, it will not provide significant financial benefit to Russia. "I have spoken to the President about it, and the Secretary of the Treasury and the whole National Security team came to this decision because our allies like India have been good actors and previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil. So as we work to appease this temporary gap of oil supply around the world, because of the Iranians, we have temporarily permitted them to accept Russian oil", Leavitt said.

Background on West Asia Conflict

Earlier, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had announced the 30-day waiver given to India to purchase Russian oil amid the West Asia Conflict.

The conflict, which started on February 28, has entered the 12 day.

The tensions rose in West Asia after the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on February 28, following which Iran, in its retaliation, targeted Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries. The US-Israel strikes also killed several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic.

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