EU imposes sanctions on Rosneft’s Vadinar refinery

The bloc will ban the import of “refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and coming from any third country-with the exception of Canada, Norway, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States thereby preventing Russia's crude oil from reaching the EU market through the back door”, the statement said.

- HT Correspondent

The European Union (EU) on Friday unveiled sanctions on the Vadinar refinery in Gujarat, jointly owned by Russian energy firm Rosneft and an investment consortium, as part of a new package of measures largely aimed at curbing the revenues of Russia’s oil and energy sector that also included an import ban on refined petroleum products made from Russian crude oil and coming from any third country.

The 18th package of sanctions against Russia over its war against Ukraine, announced almost two months after the previous package, also included lowering the oil price cap from $60 to about $48 a barrel. Russia has emerged as India's top energy supplier since the West slapped sanctions on its oil after the invasion of Ukraine, and currently accounts for nearly 35% of overall supplies, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

India responded to the EU's action by reiterating that New Delhi “does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures” and calling for an end to double standards in energy trade—a reference to European states buying refined products made from Russian oil from third countries.

“We are a responsible actor and remain fully committed to our legal obligations,” external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Noting that the Indian government considers energy security as a responsibility of paramount importance, he said, “We would stress that there should be no double standards, especially when it comes to energy trade.”