Strengthening ties with India is more important than ever given the current global situation following Russia’s war on Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary Elizabeth Truss said on Thursday. “We live in a more uncertain world precisely because we have (Vladimir) Putin’s appalling invasion of Ukraine. The ‘Ukrainian crisis highlights the need for like-minded nations to work together,'” he said, adding: “We see world food security under threat, world energy security under threat. During the conversation, she was also asked to comment on India’s purchase of Russian oil at a deeply discounted price at a time when the West is trying to isolate Moscow. Truss said, “India is a sovereign nation, I’m not going to tell India what to do. Jaishankar said, “When oil prices go up, it is natural for countries to look for bargains for their people. He also explained how Europe bought oil and gas from Russia despite the crisis. “Europe bought 15% more oil and gas from Russia than a month earlier. Most of Russia’s major oil and gas buyers are in Europe,” Jaishankar said.”We get most of our energy supplies from the Middle East, about 7.5%, 8% from the United States, maybe less than 1% from Russia,” he said. Russia sent its troops to its pro-Western neighbor on February 24 and has since been on an aggressive offensive in and around its key cities. Putin said he was trying to “denazify” Ukraine, which has been influenced by Western nations, creating a threat to Russian homeland security. crisis, Ukraine abandoned its aspirations to join NATO, which Russia had been seeking for a long time. However, despite multiple rounds of talks during the more than six weeks of the invasion, fighting rages in Ukraine and Russian troops are heading towards the capital kyiv. A close partner of Russia for decades, India has so far taken a neutral stance. and refrained from condemning the invasion on a public platform India has also refrained from abiding by UN resolutions censoring Russia and continues to buy oil and other Russian goods despite Western pressure.