Bengaluru, Feb 28 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar said on Wednesday that he took a strong stance on buying Russian oil amid sanctions on Moscow during its conflict with Ukraine because he is the "minister of a strong government with a strong Prime Minister".

EAM Jaishankar said this while speaking at the BVB College in Hubballi where he released a booklet on development works initiated by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi. Acknowledging that India was "under great pressure" from European nations who disapproved of its oil trade with Russia, he said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's clear vision that helped at that time.

"We had a Prime Minister who was very clear -- that the interest of the Indian consumer will come first. People say you took a very strong stance. I took a very strong stand because I am a minister of a strong government with a strong Prime Minister," the minister said.

In the past, EAM Jaishankar quipped that "India's oil purchases are less than what Europe buys in an afternoon while retorting that New Delhi buying Russian oil should not be a concern for others". Speaking to a German daily earlier this month, the minister reaffirmed its friendly ties with Russia, saying that "Moscow never hurt New Delhi's interests".

The bilateral ties between the all-weather friends have been increasingly scrutinised ever since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out in February 2022.

Amid claps and cheers from the crowd, EAM Jaishankar further extolled PM Modi and said that it is "nice to be a foreign minister, but it is great to be PM Modi's foreign minister".

"The world looks at us. They marvel and ask what has changed in India. Many things have changed -- the easiest answer is PM Modi. All of us have changed along with him; his vision, his leadership, his motivation. Because when a leader thinks big for the country, the country responds to it."

The EAM visited Hubballi to participate in the inauguration of a new building of AGMR Ayurvedic Medical College and Hospital and to lay the foundation for Padmavati Temple at Varur.

/IANS