By Shakir Husain
NEW DELHI, April 23 (NNN-BERNAMA) — India will buy more oil from other producers after the United States announced it will discontinue issuing waivers to key importers of Iranian oil as part of Washington’s strategy to tighten trade sanctions against Iran.
“We are adequately prepared to deal with the impact of this decision,” India’s Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday.
The US administration said on Monday it will not renew waivers from its Iran sanctions issued to some countries.
Earlier China, Greece, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey received such US waivers to import Iranian oil.
The Indian government said it will “continue to work with partner nations, including with the US, to find all possible ways to protect India’s legitimate energy and economic security interests.”
Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan said the government has “put in place a robust plan” for an adequate supply of crude oil to local refineries.
“There will be additional supplies from other major oil-producing countries; Indian refineries are fully prepared to meet the national demand for petrol, diesel and other petroleum products,” he said.
The Turkish government on Monday criticised the unilateral US move, saying it promotes regional instability.
“The US decision to end sanctions waivers on Iran oil imports will not serve regional peace and stability, yet will harm Iranian people. Turkey rejects unilateral sanctions and impositions on how to conduct relations with neighbours,” Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said.
— NNN-BERNAMA
