UK to Continue Buying Russian Fuel Through 3rd Parties, Circumventing Sanctions - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United Kingdom is likely to continue buying Russian fuel even after a full embargo comes into effect, The Times reported on Monday.

Russian fuel imports account for a fifth of the diesel used in the UK every year, the media outlet reported. Since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the UK has imported 7 million barrels of diesel fuel worth 800 million pounds ($960 million) from Russia, according to the data from Refinitiv, global provider of financial market data. At the same time, the country's government promised to gradually phase out Russian oil imports by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, India's imports of Russian crude oil at reduced prices have soared in the past few months. In turn, Indian refineries are already supplying diesel fuel to the UK, and the last batch arrived in April, the report said.

The media noted that the Russian oil from the Stavropolneftegaz company could be pumped through the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, mixed with other supplies and certified as Kazakhstan's.

Since the launch of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine, Western countries have adopted several packages of sanctions against Russia, in particular against its energy sector. There are now discussions about a possible embargo on oil products and gas supplies from Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the policy of containing and weakening Russia is the West's long-term strategy and that sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy.