Washington: America has made it clear that every country is free to import Russian oil like India bought oil from Russia.
According to Dawn.com, the spokesperson of the US State Department said in response to a question that other countries are not currently banned from importing petroleum products from Russia.
The US State Department spokesperson was asked if Pakistan and other countries can import Russian oil as India is doing.
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However, a State Department spokesman pointed out that the U.S. Treasury Department has already issued a general license that allows transactions for oil purchases with approved Russian banks, so such payments could continue.
The spokesman added that the current US sanctions, which came into effect after the Russian invasion of Ukraine at the beginning of the year, had been slightly tightened by changing payment methods related to energy, trade and transport.
According to a US State Department spokesman, the sanctions were aimed at preventing Russia from becoming a major oil exporter.
The spokesperson of the US State Department also said that discussions are ongoing with partners including India and European allies to reduce the impact on global markets of Russian President Vladimir Putin's aggression on Ukraine.
It should be noted that the Indian media reported earlier in the day that Russia has overtaken the traditional sellers of oil, Saudi Arabia and Iraq. Contrary to the plan proposed by the G7 group of countries, India has continued to buy oil.
It should be noted that now Russian oil is 22% of India's total crude imports, while Iraq's is 20.5% and Saudi Arabia's is more than 16%.