There should be no double standards on energy trade: India on latest EU sanctions package against Russia

New Delhi, July 18 Hours after the European Union (EU) agreed upon an 18th round of sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, India on Friday said that it does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures and that there should be no "double standards", especially when it comes to energy trade.

"We have noted the latest sanctions announced by the European Union. India does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures. We are a responsible actor and remain fully committed to our legal obligations," Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to media queries regarding the issue.

"Government of India considers the provision of energy security a responsibility of paramount importance to meet the basic needs of its citizens. We would stress that there should be no double standards, especially when it comes to energy trade," he added.

According to the EU, the 18th Russia sanctions package focuses on five building blocks: cutting Russia's energy revenues, hitting Russia's banking sector, further weakening its military-industrial complex, strengthening anti-circumvention measures, and holding Russia accountable for its crimes against Ukrainian children and cultural heritage.

"With this package, the number of listed vessels in Russia's shadow fleet reaches a total of 444 vessels, and the number of individual listings exceeds 2,500. This package also includes new sanctions against Belarus," read the EU statement.

On Thursday, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri said that India has diversified its sources for buying oil in the global market, due to which the government is not “unduly worried” over any US crackdown on Russia's oil exports.

Speaking at the Urja Varta 2025, the minister said India currently buys oil from 40 nations, as compared to 27 countries in 2007, and the global market is well-supplied.

"There is a lot of oil available in the market. Iran and Venezuela are currently under sanctions. But are they going to be under sanctions forever? Many countries, including Brazil, Canada and others, are ramping up output. I am not unduly worried about supplies as of now. We have diversified our sources," Puri said.

The minister’s statement came against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump announcing that secondary sanctions would be imposed on countries buying Russian oil.

On July 15, Trump had threatened to impose serious trade restrictions on Russia unless a peace deal with Ukraine is reached within 50 days. Trump said US tariffs on Russian exports would be increased to 100 per cent, while also threatening to impose secondary sanctions on countries such as India and China that buy oil from Russia.

Meanwhile, Moscow on Friday described the move as unlawful and emphasised that it will assess the latest package in order to minimise its impact.

"So far, we continue to observe a fairly consistent anti-Russian stance from Europe. We have repeatedly stated that we view such unilateral restrictions as illegal and we oppose them," Russian state-run news agency TASS quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying.

Peskov further emphasised that the Russian leadership will assess the latest package of European sanctions in order to minimise its impact.

"Undoubtedly, the new package will need to be thoroughly analysed in order to minimise its impact," said Peskov.

He further asserted that Russia has developed a degree of immunity to sanctions over the course of repeated waves of Western restrictions.

"Over time, we have indeed developed a certain immunity to sanctions and have adapted to living under such conditions," he noted.

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