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European Union official Josep Borrell has threatened action against India for buying cheap oil from Russia and selling it to European countries facing US sanctions. After that the Indian Foreign Minister hit back at the European Union.
India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar has advised EU official Joseph Borrell to look into EU Council regulation in retaliation. He said, I urge you to look at the EU regulation. Russian oil is refined in third countries. Refined oil is not considered Russian oil. I urge you to look at EU Regulation 833/2014. I would request
Jaishankar said this at a press conference held in Brussels. India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar is currently on a tour of Bangladesh, Sweden and Belgium. In this sequence, he reached Brussels on Tuesday local time.
European Union warned
Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar’s statement came at a time when EU Foreign Policy High Representative Josep Borrell had said a day earlier that India was buying Russian oil. This is normal but India refined this Russian oil, produced it and sold it to us. The purpose of imposing sanctions is to reduce Russia’s income. The EU must find a solution. We have to act on India.
Apart from this, he said that India should be thankful that it is buying very cheap Russian oil from us due to the limit imposed on the price of Russian oil. It’s good for us too. All we want is that Russia does not increase its income by selling oil at high prices. But India refines this oil and sells it to European countries in violation of the sanctions.
Jaishankar met Josep Borrell
Josep Borrell made this statement before Foreign Minister S Jaishankar reached Brussels. He also said that he will discuss the issue when he meets Jaishankar. After reaching Brussels, Jaishankar also met Josep Borrell. However, when S Jaishankar was reacting to Josep Borrell’s comments on oil import-export, he was not present at the press conference.
EU Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager attended the press conference in place of Josep Borrell. He said there was no doubt about the legal basis of the sanctions. India and EU will sit as friends and discuss this issue in detail instead of pointing fingers at each other. Apart from External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Union Minister of State for Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar were also present at this business technology summit.
India’s diesel exports increased
According to a report by CREA, an organization of European country Finland, India is benefiting by buying cheap Russian oil. India’s diesel exports have tripled since the Ukraine war. According to the report, in March 2023, India exported about 1,60,000 barrels of diesel per day.
India raised the voice of buying oil from Russia
This is not the first time that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has given a befitting reply to the question raised regarding the purchase of oil from Russia. Even before this he has replied to Europe on this issue. Apart from this, Jaishankar also criticized the pressure being created by western countries to reduce trade with Russia. Since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war, India has been buying huge quantities of Russian oil at subsidized prices. India says it will get a better deal wherever it meets its energy needs. He will buy from there.
Russia is the number 1 supplier of oil to India
Prior to the start of the Ukraine War, Russia was a minor exporter of oil to India. Before March 2022, India was importing only one percent of crude oil from Russia. Before the Russo-Ukraine war, India used to import more than 60 percent of its oil from Middle Eastern countries. But in a year this figure has reached 35 percent. Russia is currently the number one supplier of oil exporting around 1.64 million barrels per day. India’s trade deficit has reached a record level due to bumper oil imports from Russia. According to India’s Department of Commerce, this is the first time India’s trade deficit has crossed $100 billion.