Brussels: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (local time) responded to EU Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s call for action against Indian products made from Russian crude oil. He asked him to check the EU Council regulations.
He said, “According to EU Council regulations, Russian crude oil is significantly altered in the third country and no longer considered as Russian. I suggest you look at Council’s Regulation 833/2014.”
Borrell had earlier told Financial Times that the EU should take action against India for selling Russian oil as refined fuels such as diesel to Europe. He said this was a way to tighten sanctions on Russia’s energy sector amid its aggression in Ukraine.
Borrell met with Mr Jaishankar at the trade technology talks in Brussels, but he did not attend the press conference afterwards.
Instead, EU Executive Vice President on Competition, Margrethe Vestager spoke and said that the sanctions had a clear legal basis. She also said that the EU and India would have a friendly dialogue with “an extended hand and not a pointed finger.”
Mr Jaishankar was accompanied by Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Mr Jaishankar had arrived in Brussels on Monday for the final part of his three-nation tour that included Bangladesh and Sweden.
He had also earlier defended India’s trade with Russia and indirectly criticised the West for putting pressure on New Delhi to reduce its imports from Russia because of its military action in Ukraine.
He questioned the logic of Europe making decisions to favour its own energy requirements while expecting India to act differently.
“Our trade with Russia is very low- USD 12-13 billion, compared to European nations. We have offered the Russians some products… I don’t think there is more to it than the normal aspirations of any trading nation to expand its trade,” the EAM stated earlier in December while speaking at a joint media briefing with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.
“I would encourage you to check these numbers. There is a website named ‘Russia Fossil Fuel Tracker’ that would provide you with data on who is importing what from each country and I think that might be very very informative,” he continued.