On EU official call against India over Russian oil, Jaishankar’s blunt response

India, one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude, ships refined fuel produced from the crude to European states.

Updated on: May 17, 2023, 22:37:51 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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NEW DELHI: India has pushed back against a suggestion by a top European Union (EU) official for a crackdown on Russian oil resold by Indian firms as refined fuels, with external affairs minister S Jaishankar saying such exports don’t violate EU regulations.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar addresses the media during a press conference on the EU-India Trade and Technology Council at EU headquarters in Brussels (AP)

EU foreign and security policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday that Brussels is aware Indian refiners are buying large volumes of Russian crude oil and processing it into fuels for sale in Europe. For the first time since India significantly ramped up purchases of discounted Russian oil, Borrell also said the EU should act to stop this practice.

Borrell made the remarks to the Financial Times before he held a bilateral meeting with Jaishankar and participated in the inaugural meeting of the India-EU Trade and Technology Council in Brussels. Jaishankar pushed back against the suggestion while addressing a joint news conference with senior EU officials.

Asked about Borrell’s remarks by a reporter, Jaishankar replied: “I really don’t see the basis for your question because my understanding of the [European] Council regulations is that if Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country, then it’s not treated as Russian any more.”

He added, “I would urge you to look at Council regulation 833/2014.”

This regulation, which is part of measures put in place by the EU to restrict Russia’s earnings from crude oil following the invasion of Ukraine, bans the import of crude oil and petroleum products originating in Russia.

European Commission executive vice-president Margrethe Vestager, who also addressed the news conference, said: “There is...no doubts about the legal basis of the sanctions. Of course, it is a discussion that we will have with friends but it will be with an extended hand and...not with a pointed finger.”

Borrell earlier told the Financial Times that if diesel or gasoline is entering Europe from India “and being produced with Russian oil, that is certainly a circumvention of sanctions and member states have to take measures”.

India is currently one of the biggest buyers of Russian crude. The sale of refined fuels produced from the crude to European states is legal under EU embargoes but has been criticised by those backing harsher sanctions against Russia.

At his bilateral meeting with Jaishankar, Borrell reiterated the EU’s “unwavering resolve” to support Ukraine, including efforts to “secure a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the UN Charter”.

According to an EU readout, Borrell recalled the bloc’s commitment to addressing the global consequences of “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, focusing on food security”. He asked Jaishankar “for India to support Ukraine’s peace initiative, and to urge Russia to agree on the crucial extension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative”.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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