NEW DELHI, May 16. /TASS/. India is guided by its national interests and international norms in matters of energy trade and operates on the understanding that Russian oil is not subject to sanctions, Indian Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri told TASS.
"India will go by what is correct. If particular oil is sanctioned, Indian entities will not trade if some entity or individual which has done that and they can face secondary sanctions, etc. But by and large, when it comes to Russia, the clarity is there: Russian oil is not under sanctions," he said.
He also noted that he had never encountered any restrictions that explicitly prohibit the purchase of Russian oil. "Somebody asked me ‘Aren't you worried about the West sanctions on Russia oil?" I can tell you, I've never been aware of any sanctions on Russian oil," he added.
The minister recalled that a price cap mechanism was imposed against Russia, and India has complied with the stipulated conditions.
On December 5, 2022, the European Union’s embargo on seaborne oil imports from Russia came into effect. The G7 countries, the EU, and Australia imposed a price cap of $60 per barrel on seaborne Russian oil, applicable to vessels and jurisdictions under their control. Starting from February 5, 2023, similar restrictions were introduced for imports of petroleum products from Russia.