New Delhi [India], January 6 : Reacting to recent remarks made by former US President Donald J Trump, former diplomat K P Fabian said, "I have been asking myself why President Trump said what he said."
Referring to India's decision to import oil from Russia, Trump, in an interview with a gaggle of journalists aboard Air Force One, had said, "They wanted to make me happy, basically... PM Modi is a very good man. He's a good guy. He knew I was not happy. It was important to make me happy. They do trade, and we can raise tariffs on them very quickly."
Commenting on US actions against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Moros, Fabian said, "What he did in Venezuela is contrary to international law and the UN Charter."
Fabian also referred to the Ministry of External Affairs' (MEA) response to the developments. While acknowledging that the MEA may have had valid diplomatic reasons for exercising restraint, he said that any move to arrest Maduro would be illegal. "I understand why the MEA did not say this. They may have good reasons, but I can say that it was an absolute violation," he added.
Speculating on Trump's motivations, Fabian said he wondered whether the former US President feared that India might issue a statement criticising his actions and sought to pre-empt such a response. "I wonder whether Trump was worried about India coming out with a statement criticising him, and he wanted to forestall it. That could be one explanation," he said.
"The other explanation is that I'm told India has not stopped importing oil from Russia," Fabian added.
India has continued importing oil from Russia despite multiple international sanctions imposed over Moscow's war on Ukraine.
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