With the Ukraine-Russia war raging on for the 24th day, the US tried to pile moral pressure on India over Russian oil supplies. The Joe Biden government on March 18 said that even though America has banned import of Russian crude oil, many other countries have not done so following their own "economic reasoning".
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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said, "Well, we made a decision about banning the Russian import of oil. Every country has not made that decision and we recognize that, and they have different economic reasoning as to why different countries do, including some in Europe. We have been in touch, of course, with Indian leaders at a range of levels, not through the president."
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She added that the whole world is watching those who are supporting Russia "in any form" amid its illegal invasion of Ukraine. "What we would project or convey to any leader around the world, is that the world the rest of the world is watching where you're going to stand, as it relates to this conflict, whether it's support for Russia in any form as they are illegally invading Ukraine," Psaki said.
On March 15, the White House had said that if India buys Russian crude oil at discounted rates, it would not be a violation of US sanctions on Russia. However, Psaki had then said that countries should think about how they are described when history books are written about the ongoing war.
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