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As India awaits the United States’ determination connected extending its waiver connected sanctions against the import of Russian oil, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar connected Thursday (May 14, 2026) deed retired astatine unilateral non-United Nations’ sanctions, calling them unjustified. Delivering the nationalist connection astatine the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting chaired by India, Mr. Jaishankar called connected the grouping of emerging economies to code the occupation of specified sanctions.
Significantly, the gathering was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi representing 2 of the U.S.’s astir heavy sanctioned countries.
With the latest waiver successful place, import of Russian crude lipid surged to 1.96 cardinal barrels per time since the commencement of May till day compared to 1.57 cardinal barrels per time during the afloat period successful April, according to information from real-time maritime analytics supplier Kpler. The surge of lipid intake from Moscow successful May are indicative of Indian refiners rushing to unafraid unchangeable supplies from Russia arsenic those from West Asia find themselves mired successful tensions.
In fact, India’s import of Russian lipid stood astatine 1.98 cardinal barrels per time successful March. This coincided with U.S. according a waiver connected Russian lipid purchases connected March 12.
Oil imports from Russia person surged notwithstanding crude lipid being priced astatine a premium of arsenic overmuch arsenic $5 for each barrel.
‘Affecting processing countries’
“We indispensable besides code the expanding edifice to unilateral coercive measures and sanctions inconsistent with planetary instrumentality and the UN Charter. Such measures disproportionately impact processing countries.,” Mr. Jaishankar said. “These unjustifiable measures cannot substitute dialogue, nor tin unit regenerate diplomacy.”
In the aftermath of the warfare successful West Asia, the U.S. had granted month-long waivers for lipid imports from Iran and Russia, which India took vantage off. However, the waiver connected Iran lapsed past month, and the waiver connected Russia, which was extended is acceptable to expire connected May 16, with U.S. officials indicating that determination would beryllium nary extension.
Speaking to the media connected April 25, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said that helium had agreed to the waivers owed to requests from “more than 10 of the astir susceptible and poorest countries”. “But I wouldn’t ideate that we’d person different extension,” helium said, adding that the Russian lipid disposable on-board ships that the waiver covered, had already been bought up.
While the Modi authorities maintains India’s accepted presumption connected not accepting non-UN sanctions, successful signifier it has complied with a bid of sanctions from the U.S. for commercialized reasons, including connected lipid from Iran, Russia and Venezuela, commercialized with Iran and the improvement of the Chabahar port.
When asked connected Wednesday (May 13) astir whether India would see cutting lipid imports from Russia arsenic it did successful the past, if the U.S. does not widen the waiver connected Saturday, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government’s argumentation is “guided by the interests of 1.4 cardinal Indians”.
However, helium declined to remark connected reports that India has asked the U.S. for extension.
