The EU’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, wants the EU to take action against India for selling refined fuels made from Russian crude into Europe. He met with India’s Minister of External Affairs, S Jaishankar, during trade talks in Brussels and asked him to address EU Council Regulation 833/2014, which states that Russian crude that has been substantially altered in a third country no longer qualifies as Russian. Borrell is concerned about the sale of diesel and other refined goods derived from Russian crude imported from India.
Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s executive vice president for competition, stated that there is “no doubt about the legal basis of the sanctions,” but that the EU and India will discuss the issue as friends. Meanwhile, Commerce minister Piyush Goyal and Union Minister of State for Entrepreneurship, Skill Development, Electronics and Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar also attended the meeting with Jaishankar.
Jaishankar arrived in Brussels on Monday after trips to Bangladesh, Sweden, and Belgium. He had previously defended India’s imports from Russia while criticizing the West for pressuring New Delhi to reduce its trade with Russia over its military intervention in Ukraine.
