Overview
- The brief exchange in Finland that produced Jaishankar’s “You’re not supposed to say that” line went viral on Saturday after a media briefing following bilateral talks.
- The interaction followed focused talks on expanding defence cooperation between India and Finland and discussion of multiple deals.
- Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen told a Kultaranta panel that India had bought Russian oil within the Western price cap and that the cap was not meant to ban purchases.
- Jaishankar used the visit to defend India’s energy policy and to push back against criticism of New Delhi’s continued Russian oil imports.
- The combination of Helsinki’s backing and viral public diplomacy could ease European criticism of India’s energy choices and shift debate over how the price-cap mechanism is applied; the price cap was designed to limit Russian revenue while keeping global oil flowing.