S Jaishankar Replies to EU Call For Action Against India Over Russian Oil

BRUSSELS: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday (local time) responded to EU Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell’s comment calling for action against imported Indian refined products made from Russian crude, while advising him to look at EU Council regulations.

Jaishankar said, "Look at EU Council regulations, Russian crude is substantially transformed in the third country and not treated as Russian anymore. I would urge you to look at Council's Regulation 833/2014.”

The comment came soon after the European bloc's chief diplomat earlier comments that the EU should crack down on India as it was reselling Russian oil as refined fuels including diesel into Europe, as Western nations took steps to tighten sanctions imposed on Moscow's energy sector.

EU's Foreign policy chief Borrell had remarked that India buying Russian oil is normal but wants the EU to take action on refined products from Russian crude coming from India.

Although Borrell had met with Mr Jaishankar in Brussels at the trade technology talks, he was not present at the press conference that was held later.

Taking his place at the press meet, EU Executive Vice President on Competition, Margrethe Vestager said that there was ‘no doubt about the legal basis of the sanctions’, and that the discussion between the EU and India would be as ‘friends... with an extended hand and of course, not a pointed finger.’

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar were also present in the meeting, along with S Jaishankar.

Jaishankar arrived in Brussels on Monday for the concluding part of his three-nation visit, which included Bangladesh, Sweden and Belgium.

Jaishankar had spoken for India's crude oil imports from Russia earlier also, while indirectly chastising the Western nations for putting pressure on New Delhi to decrease its trade with Russia, in connection with its military action in Ukraine.

He also expressed his surprise as to how Europe could take decisions to give priority to its own energy needs and at the same time ask India to refrain from doing so.

"Our trade with Russia is at a very small level- USD 12-13 billion, in comparison to European countries. We've also given the Russians a set of products... I don't think people should read more into it other than the legitimate expectations of any trading country to increase its trade," the External Affairs Minister had said earlier in December, while addressing a joint press conference along with Annalena Baerbock, his counterpart from Germany.

"I would urge you to look at these figures. There is a website called 'Russia Fossil Fuel Tracker' that would give you country-by-country data of who is really importing what and I suspect that might be very very helpful," he added at the time.

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