Not Russian Anymore: Jaishankar's Reply On EU Call For Action Against India

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reacted sharply to EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell's call for a crackdown on Indian refined products from Russian crude.

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

Jaishankar's comments comes in response to Borrell's remarks calling for action against Indian refined products from Russian crude including diesel, into Europe, amid Western nations' sanctions on Moscow's energy sector.

The Western countries have been critical of India's oil imports from Russia during the Ukraine conflict, but New Delhi has remained firm on the issue.

Jaishankar has defended India's imports from Russia on many occasions while slamming the West for pressurising New Delhi to minimise its trade with Russia in view of its military action in Ukraine.

"Our trade with Russia is at a very small level- $12-13 billion, in comparison to European countries. We've also given 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," Jaishankar had said while addressing a joint press conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.

"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.

It must be noted that India's appetite for Russian oil swelled ever since it started trading on a discount, much to the chagrin of the West, which has severed trade ties with Russia over its war in Ukraine.

According to data from energy cargo tracker Vortexa, Russia has remained India's top oil supplier, surpassing traditional sellers Iraq and Saudi Arabia.