India insists will not reduce oil import from Iran
Indian Foreign Minister S M Krishna made it clear on Thursday that New Delhi will not bow to U.S. pressure to reduce its oil imports from Iran and called Iran a "key country" for meeting India’s growing energy needs.
Krishna also said India feels no obligation to observe United States’ unilateral sanctions on Iran, insisting that India will not cut its “legitimate” trade with Tehran.
The U.S. and its European allies have imposed sanctions against Iran outside the UN resolutions for its nuclear program which Tehran insists is only meant for peaceful purposes.
"As far as other sanctions, those decided either unilaterally or regionally, we are aware of such measures. In a globalised world, such actions tend to impact on the market and our commercial entities take these into account. Such measures should not impact legitimate trade interests," Krishna told reporters in a join press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in New Delhi.
"As far as the question of sanctions is concerned, let me say that the United Nations Security Council in its wisdom has passed resolutions on the issue and India has always abided by such resolutions of the Security Council as a responsible member of the international community," Krishna stated.
The top Indian diplomat also said, "India has always held that the (Iranian) nuclear issue should be resolved through peaceful diplomacy and the framework of the IAEA provides the best forum to address the technical aspects of the issue."