The European Union should take action against India, as the country allegedly refines Russian oil for sale in Europe. About this in an interview with the Financial Times declared Josep Borrell, head of EU diplomacy.
“If diesel or gasoline enters Europe coming from India and being produced from Russian oil, this is certainly a circumvention of sanctions, and EU member states should take action,” he said.
Borrell recalled that the price ceiling for oil from the Russian Federation introduced by the G7 countries gave India the opportunity to use cheaper raw materials. According to the head of diplomacy, he feels embarrassed that now most of this oil is allegedly returned to Europe as refined fuel.
At the same time, Borrell added: the fact that India buys oil from Russia is normal. Action is needed only if the country processes raw materials and sells by-products to European countries.
The interlocutor of the newspaper believes that any mechanism aimed at stopping the flow of Russian oil must be implemented by “national authorities.” Therefore, Borrell suggested that the EU could target buyers of Indian refined fuel, derived, in the opinion of member countries, from Russian oil. “If they are selling, it is because someone is buying. And we have to watch who is buying,” he concluded.
February 2023 India imported from Russia record volume of crude oil. It was noted that deliveries reached 6.3 million tons of fuel per month, and spending on the purchase of Russian oil products increased 42 times in annual terms. In India itself, it was said that Western countries do not express dissatisfaction purchases of oil from the Russian Federation.
