The EU does not consider the task of “cutting India off from Russian oil” realistic, the main goal of past and future measures is to limit Russian oil revenues, a high-ranking European source told reporters in Brussels.
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“I expect the issue of oil to be raised. Like diamonds, this is a very sensitive topic. We believe that the price cap has been a great success, it has kept prices low. <…> There was no goal of cutting India off from Russian oil, this unattainable goal, it was about limiting Russian oil revenues,” he said.
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On Tuesday, EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano said the EU would not comment on whether the new 11th package of anti-Russian sanctions would discuss the issue of measures against the export to Europe of Russian oil allegedly processed in India.
The possibility of such sanctions was announced by the head of EU diplomacy, Josep Borrell. According to him, the EU should take action against India, which allegedly refines oil from Russia for sale in Europe. He is sure that this “certainly is a circumvention of the sanctions and the member states (EU) must take action.”
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Borrell stressed that any mechanism aimed at stopping the flow of Russian oil should be implemented by the countries of the union at the national level. By doing so, he suggested that the EU could target buyers of Indian refined fuel, which member states believe is derived from Russian oil.
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Fuel sanctions of a number of countries against supplies from Russia came into force on February 5: the European Union banned the import of Russian oil products, while the EU and the G7 countries set a price ceiling for them. The limit has been set at $100 per barrel for oil products from Russia traded at a premium to the benchmark oil grade (diesel fuel) and $45 per barrel for those traded at a discount (fuel oil). For some countries, exceptions were made from the sanctions.
