EU concerned over petroleum products made of Russian crude entering European markets

NEW DELHI: The European Union on Saturday expressed concern on rising refined petroleum products made from Russian crude in India finding their way into European markets, noting that it defeated the purpose of sanctions imposed on Russia.

The EU executive vice president Valdis Dombrovskis said that oil products processed from Russian crude oil are reaching European markets in huge quantities, with which it is trying to deal with.

Dombrovskis, who is currently in India and had participated in the G20 trade ministers meeting in Jaipur, also accused Russia of training its resources like food and energy supplies as tools of war and manipulation to attack Ukraine.

Dombrovskis gave the example of Russia withdrawing from the Black Sea grain initiative and blocking Ukraine's export of food grain to the world market.

He said that EU has been noticing new trade pattens emerging, like sharp rise in refined oil products, or in other words, imports in the EU from India.

"But if they are made with Russian oil, in a sense it defies the purpose which we are putting in front of us as the EU, as a Western democratic world, to reduce Russia's ability to wage the civil war," Dombrovskis said, adding that the EU will have to ponder over it.