BERLIN

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ruled out pressuring India to reduce its energy imports from Russia during his visit to the South Asian nation on Monday, emphasizing that dialogue rather than coercion is the right approach to address the issue.

Speaking at a news conference in Ahmedabad following his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Merz said the two leaders had a "really good" and "very open" conversation covering the war in Ukraine and India's oil and gas imports from Russia, among other topics.

"He explained to me very extensively that India, as a country with 1.4 billion inhabitants that has few of its own energy resources, is dependent on Russian oil and gas imports," the conservative leader said. "My impression is that if they can reduce this dependence, they will do so."

Pressed by a reporter on whether he had applied pressure on India regarding its energy ties with Moscow, Merz declined and emphasized the importance Berlin places on strengthening cooperation between Germany and India.

"You know, exerting pressure is not the right instrument to elevate a partnership to a new level We agree on the assessment of this war. At the same time, I have understood how dependent India has been and continues to be on Russian oil and gas deliveries in recent years and decades," Merz said.

The German chancellor said his country and the European Union also faced considerable challenges in reducing their dependence on Russian energy in response to the Ukraine war, but stressed that they ultimately managed to reduce it almost to zero.

“It's obviously not that simple in India, and I'm the last person to visit other countries and point fingers. We talk to each other reasonably, and we try to find solutions,” he said.

India has significantly increased its purchases of Russian oil since the start of the Ukraine war in February 2022, benefiting from reduced prices as Western countries implemented sanctions and curtailed their own imports.