India appears to have once again taken a strong stance against US pressure to ease oil imports from Iran with external affairs minister S.M. Krishna unequivocally stating here on Thursday that Iran remains a “key country” to meet the country’s energy needs and “an important source of oil for us.”
Mr Krishna’s remarks came during a joint press interaction with visiting Iranian foreign minister Ali Akbar Salehi who is in the capital on a two-day visit. While the US has been trying to push India into reducing its oil imports from the West Asian nation having imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran for its nuclear programme, New Delhi has refused to capitulate entirely to pressure from Washington.
In an oblique criticism of US sanctions, Mr Krishna remarked: “Such measures should not impact on legitimate trade interests.” Further, he noted that India’s energy demands are growing and therefore “it is natural for us to try and diversify our sources of imports of oil and gas to meet the objectives of energy security”.
While India has cut its Iranian oil imports with the West Asian nation no longer India’s second largest source of oil imports, the US is keen that India reduce its imports further. Iranian imports are down from 16.5% in 2008-09 to about 10.4 % in 2011-12.
Importantly, the Iranian foreign minister too sought to affirm Iran’s willingness to continue providing precious crude to India. Stating that Iran is “a reliable partner of India”, Dr Salehi added, “it is a reliable source of energy for India”.
Noting that India is “an emerging economic power” with an ever increasing demand for energy, Dr Salehi assured India that “Iran is a reliable source (for energy) for that matter”. Mr Krishna too described Iran as “an important neighbour and crucial trade partner for India and also a major source of our energy supplies.” The two countries are expected to discuss India’s oil imports from Iran on Friday as well when Dr Salehi calls on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.