'Don't always see eye to eye with India ...': German minister flags Russia ties with a hidden praise

German foreign minister Johann Wadephul on Wednesday said that Europe may not always see "eye to eye" with India vis-a-vis its relationship with Russia but does acknowledge Prime Minister Narendra Modi's push for a speedy peace agreement in the region.

Wadephul, who is on a visit to India, said during a media briefing that India uses its close ties with Russia to push for peace in Europe.

"Prime Minister Modi, when he met with President Putin a couple of days ago, also pointed to the need for a speedy peace agreement in Ukraine, which has been important to us. We Europeans are doing our best, working with our American and Ukrainian friends to ensure that this war ends soon," he said.

The German minister indicated that India's intention to restore peace is in line with what Europe wants, even though the two sides do not always see "eye to eye". It was an indirect reference to West's objection to India's purchase of Russian oil, which has infuriated the Donald Trump administration in the recent weeks.

"We Europeans are doing our best, working with our American and Ukrainian friends to ensure that this war ends soon. I know that we don't always see 100% eye to eye with our Indian friends, and this is why I spoke out in favour today that India uses its relations with Russia to point to the need to make peace return to Europe and I'm grateful for the open discussion we had here today," he said.

He added that peace is the basis for security, freedom and prosperity in the region. "Security is and will remain a challenge for the future. We are pleased that in the vicinity of India too a ceasefire has come to apply."

The German Foreign Minister noted that India has been a non-aligned country throughout its Independent history, indicating how this decision has shaped New Delhi's ties with Moscow.

"That has left its mark on this country (India) and distinguishes this country from Germany ... During the Cold War, we were in confrontation with the then Soviet Union and unfortunately, because we thought we'd overcome that ... but we are back in a situation where we've not been able to overcome this, back in a situation where we're confronting Russia, have a confrontation between Russia and Europe, because international law is being violated there. We find ourselves again in this situation, and India finds itself in a different situation," he said.

India has maintained a firm position on purchasing Russian oil despite facing escalating tariffs from US and criticism from Europe.

India called the tariffs "unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable" and emphasized that its energy trade complies with international law, as there is no outright ban on buying Russian oil.

It has also hit out at Western hypocrisy regarding with Jaishankar earlier pointing out out that while India is being singled out and penalised, Western nations including the EU and the US themselves continue significant trade with Russia.