Another sanctions package

India should be cautious about its Russian oil purchases

The European Union’s (EU’s) announcement of a joint decision to phase out imports of Russian crude oil has, together with some other developments, shaken up oil markets. This would be the sixth such package of sanctions of entities linked to the Russian Federation by the countries of the EU, and it would forbid the purchase of seaborne crude oil from Russia in six months and of refined products in eight months. There will also be a ban on insuring Russian oil shipments to third countries such as India. Both these measures are, however, considerably less stringent than earlier proposed because