NEW DELHI, May 18 (Reuters) – India has been buying Russian oil irrespective of U.S. sanctions waivers, Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said on Monday.
“Regarding (the) American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasize that we have been purchasing from Russia earlier … I mean before waiver also, during waiver also, and now also,” she told a media briefing.
“It is basically the commercial sense which should be there for us to purchase … There is no shortage of crude. Enough crude has been tied up repeatedly … and this, whatever waiver or no waiver, it will not affect,” she said.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Shanima Aniyeri; Editing by YP Rajesh)