New Delhi/Brussels, May 16 (FN Bureau) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday cited European Council regulations to say that “if Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country then it is not treated as Russian anymore”, as he countered a media question on India selling refined oil products using Russian oil. At a media event, post the holding of the first India-EU Trade and Technology Council Meeting in Brussels, a media person posed the question that Josep Borrell, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the EU Commission, had said that the EU should be putting sanctions on refined oil products from India using Russian oil. To this, EAM answered: “You are right Mr Borrell is not with us now but I really don’t see the basis for your question, because my understanding of the Council regulations is that if Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country, then it is not treated as Russian anymore.
I would urge you to look at Council Regulation 833/2014.” European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager, added: “I will not add to this. There is no doubt about the legal basis of the sanctions. Of course, it is a discussion that we will have with friends, (looking at the Indian delegation) but it will be with an standard hand, and not with a pointed finger. That should go without saying.” India and Russia have both acknowledged the spike in bilateral trade, which is breaking records. At the end of 2022, bilateral trade reached a record high of $35.3 billion, which is 2.5 times more than in 2021. For the period April 2022 – February, 2023, the trade stands at about USD 45 billion. According to the European Council regulation 833/2014, the prohibitions on Russian oil do not apply to the covered crude oil or petroleum products if the covered goods “originate in a third country and are only being loaded in, departing from, or transiting through Russia, provided that the origin and owner of such goods are non-Russian”.