The country’s foreign ministry said New Delhi “does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures”
India has firmly distanced itself from the European Union’s latest round of sanctions targeting Russia and, indirectly, India’s own energy interests.
In a statement on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs said New Delhi “does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures” and is a “responsible actor” in the global energy sector.
“The 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,” the spokesperson asserted.
The remarks came in light of Brussels’ newly announced 18th package of sanctions targeting Moscow over the ongoing Ukraine conflict. The latest measures aim squarely at curbing revenues from the oil sector – including a new ban on the import of refined petroleum products derived from Russian crude oil.
The measures also targeted India’s second-largest private refinery – Nayara Energy’s Vadinar facility in Gujarat. “For the first time, we’re designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas announced on X.
By imposing sanctions on India’s flag registry, the official list of all the ships that fly a country’s flags, the EU can punish any India-flagged ship for transporting Russian oil.
The refinery, which processes up to 20 million tonnes annually, is owned by Nayara Energy, an Indo-Russian private company in which Rosneft holds a 49% stake.
The consortium of companies led by Rosneft had acquired the refinery from India’s Essar Group in 2017 for $12.9 billion – marking the biggest ever foreign investment in the sector.
While Moscow has emerged as India’s key oil supplier since the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022 – accounting for nearly 40% of India’s crude imports – New Delhi, in parallel, has become a major exporter of refined fuels to Europe since 2023. The EU is a significant buyer of Russian crude that is processed at the Vadinar refinery.
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The European Union’s ban on fuels derived from Russian oil also poses a challenge to Reliance Industries – one of India’s leading players in petrochemicals, refining, and oil and gas exploration. Like Nayara, Reliance faces the risk of being excluded from the EU market, The Economic Times reported on Saturday, citing executives and analysts.