'Russian oil, military exercises key obstacles': EU admits no illusions on decoupling India from Moscow

The European Union on Wednesday highlighted its concerns over India's ties with Russia, specifically regarding its continued participation in Russian-led military exercises and its increasing purchase of Russian oil. While the EU is working to deepen its relationship with India, particularly through a free trade agreement (FTA), these issues are seen as significant obstacles.

Kaja Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission, confirmed that the EU has "clear areas of disagreement" with India on these matters. Speaking to reporters, Kallas said that she had also called India's External Affairs Minister regarding these issues — participating in military exercises, purchasing oil. 

"Participating in military exercises, purchase of oil - all these are obstacles to our cooperation when it comes to deepening the ties," she said. "We are living in very turbulent times. We need to build partnerships. The question is always whether we leave this void to be filled by somebody else or try to fill it ourselves. So deepening the ties with India in order to really not push them to Russia's corner was the agreement by the college."

Kallas also acknowledged that completely decoupling India from Russia is unrealistic given their long-standing relationship. "The discussion we also had was whether it's possible to completely decouple India from Russia, considering their history as well. I don't think we have illusions regarding this. The problems we have between ourselves in the relationship are very clear. And we are trying to address them in the negotiations. So if everything is not agreed then nothing is agreed in the end." 

When questioned about India's participation in the Zapad 2025 military exercise, Kallas said: "This is a great concern for our countries. If you want closer ties with us, then why participate in exercises that are existential threat to us? So, to be very clear in this message is that we are not taking this lightly."

The military exercise, which took place from September 10–16, involved Indian Armed Forces personnel and focused on enhancing military cooperation and interoperability in counter-terrorism operations. Despite these concerns, Kallas underscored that the EU is focused on strengthening its economic ties with India. 

European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic reaffirmed the EU's commitment to concluding the FTA negotiations by the end of the year. "A commercially meaningful EU-India free trade agreement would unlock vast potential, and by tackling both tariff and non-tariff barriers, we can drive new waves of trade and investment," Sefcovic explained.

While the EU's new strategic agenda with India aims to deepen ties in defense, trade, and energy, Kallas suggested that the geopolitical tensions surrounding Russia will remain a key issue. However, the EU remains focused on advancing these talks, as trade is seen as a mutually beneficial area that can strengthen both sides’ economies.