Bangladesh
Bangladesh-India Bangladesh seeks 'idea' from India to buy oil and wheat from Russia
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, May 31: Although Russia is keen to supply oil and wheat to Bangladesh, Dhaka has not taken any decision amid the fear of US sanctions. But despite the Russia-Ukraine heated situation, India has been buying fuel from Russia. Following this, Dhaka has asked Delhi for 'idea' or suggestion on whether Bangladesh will also buy oil and wheat from Russia.
Foreign Minister Dr. AK Abdul Momen told reporters at his office on Monday (May 30). He made the remarks while returning from a conference on rivers in Guwahati, the capital of India's northeastern state of Assam. Dr. Momen also held talks with Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the conference.
Asked about the Russia-Ukraine situation being discussed at the meeting between the two neighbours, Foreign Minister Abdul Momen said, "We have discussed the situation there with India. They are working to tackle the energy problem."
"Russia has offered to sell us oil. They also want to sell us wheat. But we wanted to know from India how you did it out of fear of sanctions (Western sanctions on Russia, including the United States). You are taking. They talked to them too. The problem with fuel is the real problem for us. We are afraid of this. So we want intelligence from them. Especially how they are doing that (buying oil and wheat from Russia)," said Dr. Momen.
The Foreign Minister said, "We have had friendly discussions on this. How they handled the situation (buying oil and wheat from Russia). India is a big country, they can manage. If they take any action, no one will impose sanctions on them. We are a poor, small country, so the threat of sanctions on us is more."
"We need energy. This is our big problem. They (Westerners) verbally forbid. You see, every day they come up with something or other. We used to call them development partners. Now the do not pay a single penny for development. Instead, they are trying to hinder development. They just come to give ideas and suggestions," Momen told reporters.
