EU foreign policy chief: Act on India selling fuel made with Russian crude

Responding later, Jaishankar said: “My understanding of the Council regulations is that Russian crude, if substantially transformed in a third country, is not treated as Russian anymore.”

Josep Borrell, EU foreign policy, Russian crude oil, India G20 Presidency, cheap Russian oil, India reselling Russian oil, refined fuels, diesel, petrol, indian express, indian express news

European Union’s foreign and security policy chief Josep Borrell (File Photo)

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For the first time since India has been buying cheap Russian oil over the last year or so, European Union’s foreign and security policy chief — equivalent to foreign minister — Josep Borrell said the EU should crack down on India reselling Russian oil as refined fuels, including diesel, to Europe.

Borrell told The Financial Times that Brussels was aware that Indian refiners were buying large volumes of Russian crude oil and processing it into fuels for sale in Europe, adding that the EU should act to stop it.

“If diesel or gasoline is entering Europe… coming from India and being produced with Russian oil, that is certainly a circumvention of sanctions, and member states have to take measures,” he said.

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He made these remarks ahead of his meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in Brussels.

Also Read | Fuels from Russian oil gets backdoor entry into Europe via India

Responding later, Jaishankar said: “My understanding of the Council regulations is that Russian crude, if substantially transformed in a third country, is not treated as Russian anymore.”

Indian refiners exported an average of around 284,000 barrels per day (bpd) of refined petroleum products to Europe in the December-April period, up from about 170,000 bpd in the year-ago period, shows data from Vortexa.

From being a marginal supplier of crude oil to India before the war in Ukraine, Russia dethroned heavyweights like Iraq and Saudi Arabia to emerge as Delhi’s biggest source of crude.

Shubhajit Roy

Shubhajit Roy, Diplomatic Editor at The Indian Express, has been a journalist for more than 25 years now. Roy joined The Indian Express in October 2003 and has been reporting on foreign affairs for more than 17 years now. Based in Delhi, he has also led the National government and political bureau at The Indian Express in Delhi — a team of reporters who cover the national government and politics for the newspaper. He has got the Ramnath Goenka Journalism award for Excellence in Journalism ‘2016. He got this award for his coverage of the Holey Bakery attack in Dhaka and its aftermath. He also got the IIMCAA Award for the Journalist of the Year, 2022, (Jury’s special mention) for his coverage of the fall of Kabul in August 2021 — he was one of the few Indian journalists in Kabul and the only mainstream newspaper to have covered the Taliban’s capture of power in mid-August, 2021. ... Read More

Sukalp Sharma

Sukalp Sharma is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express and writes on a host of subjects and sectors, notably energy and aviation. He has over 13 years of experience in journalism with a body of work spanning areas like politics, development, equity markets, corporates, trade, and economic policy. He considers himself an above-average photographer, which goes well with his love for travel. ... Read More

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