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| India says won't cut Iranian oil imports |
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 CHICAGO (Agencies) - India, the world's fourth-largest oil consumer, will not take steps to cut petroleum imports from Iran despite U.S. and European sanctions against Tehran, its finance minister said during a visit to Chicago on Sunday.
India is Iran’s second-biggest oil buyer after China. It imports 12 percent of its oil from the Islamic Republic.
The United States wants buyers in Asia, Iran's biggest oil market, to cut imports to put further pressure on Tehran for its nuclear program.
India cannot do without Iranian oil, Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said.
"It is not possible for India to take any decision to reduce the imports from Iran drastically, because among the countries which can provide the requirement of the emerging economies, Iran is an important country amongst them," Mukherjee told reporters in Chicago.
New U.S. sanctions, authorized on December 31, penalize any financial institutions dealing with Iran's central bank.
Mukherjee said, “Some other countries, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, the other Persian Gulf countries they also contribute but Iran contributes substantially.”
“We (India) import 110 million tons of crude per year. We will not decrease imports from Iran. Iran is an important country for India despite U.S. and European sanctions on Iran,” the finance minister insisted.
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