WATCH: EAM S Jaishankar's reply to EU diplomat seeking action against India for reselling Russian oil

Hours after EU Foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for crackdown on India reselling Russian oil as refined fuels, including diesel, into Europe, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday advised the bloc’s diplomat to have a look at EU Council regulations.

“My understanding of council regulations is that Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country and not treated as Russian anymore. I would urge you to look at Council’s Regulation 833/2014,” said Jaishankar when asked about Borrell’s remarks calling for action against Indian refined products from Russian crude.

#WATCH | My understanding of council regulations is that Russian crude is substantially transformed in a third country & not treated as Russian anymore. I would urge you to look at Council's Regulation 833/2014: EAM Dr Jaishankar when asked about EU Foreign Policy chief Josep… pic.twitter.com/5Dh5PH9yfX

— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2023

This comes after the bloc’s chief diplomat earlier said told The Financial Times that Brussels was aware that Indian refiners were buying large volumes of Russian crude oil and processing it into fuels for sale in Europe, adding that the EU should act to stop it.

“If diesel or gasoline is entering Europe… coming from India and being produced with Russian oil, that is certainly a circumvention of sanctions, and member states have to take measures,” he said.

While Borrell met with Jaishankar at the trade technology talks in Brussels, he was not present at the press conference that followed.

In his place, EU Executive Vice President on Competition, Margrethe Vestager said that there was “no doubt about the legal basis of the sanctions”, and that the EU and India would have the discussion as “friends… with an extended hand and of course, not a pointed finger.”

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Along with Jaishankar, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar was also in the meeting.

Jaishankar on Monday arrived in Brussels for the last leg of his three-nation visit covering Bangladesh, Sweden and Belgium.

Earlier also Jaishankar had defended India’s imports from Russia while indirectly criticising the West for pressurising New Delhi to minimise its trade with Russia in view of its military action in Ukraine.

He wondered how Europe could make choices to prioritise its own energy needs and at the same time ask India to do something else.

“Our trade with Russia is at a very small level- USD 12-13 billion, in comparison to European countries. We’ve also given the Russians a set of products… I don’t think people should read more into it other than the legitimate expectations of any trading country to increase its trade,” the EAM said earlier in December while addressing a joint press conference with his German counterpart Annalena Baerbock.

“I would urge you to look at these figures. There is a website called ‘Russia Fossil Fuel Tracker’ that would give you country-by-country data of who is really importing what and I suspect that might be very very helpful,” he added.

With inputs from agencies

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