Indian Deputy Minister Jain says US demand to unload tankers from Russian Federation

TheUnited States requires India to unload tankers with Russian oil by February 27 amid the latest package of sanctions affecting the Russian oil and gas industry. Pankaj Jain, India's Deputy Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, told reporters on January 24.

"OFAC (US Office of Foreign Assets Control. - Ed.) has made a number of clarifications. Formally, they clarified that February 27 is the last day," Jain said in response to a question about what is the last date for draining Russian oil from tankers, the deputy minister was quoted as saying by Reuters.

As far as financial transactions are concerned, March 12 has been set as the last day for completion. Jain added that India will continue to buy Russian oil if it costs less than $60 per barrel.

The world economy has suffered from sanctions against Russia. What the media say

Earlier, on January 10, the authorities in Washington and London expanded sanctions against Russia: Gazprom Neft and its head Alexander Dyukov, Surgutneftegaz, Rosatom CEO Alexei Likhachev, as well as 100 Russian tankers were added to the list. Reacting to this, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, speaking to Izvestia, emphasized that then US President Joe Biden was not going to "leave a trace in history" but "only leave a trace " before his departure.

The Bloomberg agency reported on January 13 that the price of oil reached a five-month high, exceeding $80 per barrel. Importantly, on the day the sanctions were imposed, this type of fuel immediately rose in price by 4%.

Later, on January 16, former German Finance Minister Oscar Lafontaine called for the immediate lifting of anti-Russian sanctions, which have already damaged the European Union (EU). The former head of the German Finance Ministry pointed out that these restrictions go against international law. In addition, Bundestag deputy from the party "Union of Sarah Wagenknecht - for reason and justice" Sevim Dagdelen on January 20 called for the resumption of the Nord Stream - 2 gas pipeline and the import of oil from Russia.

Western countries have tightened sanctions pressure on Russia in connection with the special operation to protect Donbass. The decision to launch it was announced on February 24, 2022 after the situation in the region worsened due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.