Energy trade under strain amid double standards: Jaishankar

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Monday took a veiled swipe at attempts to sanction energy supplies, saying that the global energy trade had become “increasingly constricted” and that “principles are applied selectively and what is preached is not necessarily practiced.”

Addressing the 20th East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur, Jaishankar said, “…We meet in complicated times. There are growing concerns about the reliability of supply chains and access to markets. Technology advancement has become very competitive, the quest for natural resources even more so. Energy trade is increasingly constricted, with resulting market distortions. Principles are applied selectively and what is preached is not necessarily practiced.”