India not violating any sanctions by importing Russian oil: US after Modi-Biden meet
Washington, April 12: In a major shift in its tone on India's energy imports from Russia, the United States has stated that energy imports are not banned from Russia and New Delhi is not violating US sanctions.
The statement came shortly after a virtual meeting between Prime Minister and United States President Joe Biden on Monday, wherein both the leaders exchanged views on several regional and global issues.
During Monday's news conference, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki stated that the virtual meeting between the two leaders was "constructive and direct".
"This was a constructive call, it was a productive call. It's a relationship that is vitally important to the United States and to the president. I would not see it as an adversarial call," the White House spokesperson said.
In response to a question on whether Biden pressured India to limit Russian energy imports, Psaki stated, "Energy imports are not banned and they don't violate our sanctions. We certainly recognise that every country is going to take a step in their interest."
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However, Psaki added that Biden told PM Modi that it's not in India's interest to increase every import from Russia.
"Beyond that, I'd let Indian leaders speak for themselves," said the White House Press Secretary responding to if US President was seeking a promise from PM Modi that he wouldn't look to boost oil purchases from Russia.
"I will let Prime Minister Modi and Indians speak on that. It's only 1-2 per cent at this point in time, they export 10 per cent from the United States. It is no violation of any sanctions or anything along those lines," Psaki said.
Psaki further added that Biden conveyed that the US is here to provide assistance to diversify their means of importing oil. "Imports from the US are already significant, much bigger than they get from Russia."
Following Western sanctions on Russian entities due to the Ukraine war, India procured at least 13 million barrels of Russian crude oil at a discounted rate. This marked a sharp rise from last year when India imported around 16 million barrels in 2021.
India, the world's third-largest oil consumer and importer, imports 80 percent of its oil, however, only about 2 percent to 3 percent of those purchases come from Russia.
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-PTC News
