India has rejected a call from the European Union (EU) to crack down on its imports of Russian oil, saying that the bloc should look at its own regulations before pointing fingers at others.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said last week that the bloc should take action against India for reselling Russian oil as refined fuels into Europe. Borrell said that this was a way for India to circumvent Western sanctions on Russia.
However, India's foreign minister, S Jaishankar, has said that the EU should look at its own regulations before criticizing India. He said that under EU regulations, Russian crude oil that is substantially transformed in a third country is no longer considered to be Russian oil.
Jaishankar also pointed out that India's imports of Russian oil are relatively small compared to those of other countries. He said that India's total imports of Russian oil in 2022 were about $12 billion, while the EU's imports were about $100 billion.
Jaishankar's comments come amid growing tensions between India and the West over the Ukraine war. The West has been pressuring India to reduce its ties with Russia, but India has so far resisted these calls.
India has said that it will continue to maintain a neutral stance on the Ukraine war. It has also said that it will continue to import Russian oil and gas, as it needs these commodities to meet its energy needs.
The EU's call for India to crack down on Russian oil imports is likely to further strain relations between India and the West. It remains to be seen how India will respond to this latest pressure from the EU.
Here are some additional details about the situation:
India has been increasing its imports of Russian oil since the start of the Ukraine war. In April, India imported about 800,000 barrels of Russian oil per day, up from about 300,000 barrels per day in February.
The EU has been trying to reduce its dependence on Russian energy since the start of the war. However, the bloc has been slow to implement sanctions on Russian oil and gas, as it is worried about the impact on its own economy.
The United States has also been pressuring India to reduce its ties with Russia. However, India has so far resisted these calls, saying that it needs to maintain a neutral stance on the Ukraine war.
The tensions between India and the West over the Ukraine war are likely to continue in the coming months. It remains to be seen how these tensions will impact the relationship between India and the West in the long term.