S Jaishankar criticises unilateral sanctions at BRICS ministers’ meeting
Russian crude imports rise to nearly 1.96mn barrels daily amid US waiver
India awaiting extension of US sanctions waiver as Hormuz disruptions continue
Jaishankar Slams Unilateral Sanctions at BRICS as India Awaits US Waiver on Russian Oil
Oil imports from Russia have surged, notwithstanding crude oil being priced at a premium of as much as $5 for every barrel
India's Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, right, speaks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi as he arrives for a two-day BRICS nations meeting in New Delhi, India Photo by AP
Summary
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India hit out at the non-United Nations Sanctions at the BRICS Foreign Ministers' meeting chaired by India yesterday. While delivering the national statement, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called them unjustified.
"We must also address the increasing resort to unilateral coercive measures and sanctions inconsistent with international law and the UN Charter. Such measures disproportionately affect developing countries. These unjustifiable measures cannot substitute dialogue, nor can pressure replace diplomacy," the minister said.
Jaishankar made the remarks in the presence of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. Both countries are the US' most heavily sanctioned.
As reported by The Hindu, citing real-time maritime analytics provider Kpler's data, import of Russian crude oil spiked to 1.96 million barrels per day from the start to date in the presence of the waiver. Throughout the month of April the figure stood at 1.57 million barrels per day.
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In fact, India’s import of Russian oil stood at 1.98 million barrels per day in March. This coincided with the US announcing a waiver on Russian oil purchases on March 12.
Oil imports from Russia have surged, notwithstanding crude oil being priced at a premium of as much as $5 for every barrel.
US Waiver
The statement came while India is waiting for a decision on extending its waiver on sanctions against the import of Russian oil as Strait of Hormuz disruptions continue for almost 75 days.
The US cleared sanctions in March and later expanded it till May 16. The waive introduced to to help stabilise oil markets by allowing additional crude supplies.
Hardeep Singh Puri stated yesterday that India held crude oil and LNG reserves for 69 days and LPG stocks for 45 days.
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During a weekly press briefing, responding to a question on whether India would consider cutting oil imports from Russia as it did in the past if the US waiver does not get an expansion, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government’s policy is guided by the interests of 1.4 billion Indians.