India Cuts Iranian Oil Imports, Has No Plans to Stop Purchases - Envoy

ST.PETERSBURG (Sputnik) - India has reduced the amount of oil imported from Iran, but does not intend to abandon the purchases completely, Indian Ambassador in Russia Bala Venkatesh Varma said Tuesday.

The diplomat told reporters on the sidelines of the International Arctic Forum that New Delhi would continue to buy Iranian oil but in lower volumes.

In mid-March, Indian Petroleum Secretary M. M. Kutty told Sputnik that India was continuing talks with the US in a bid to ensure the extension of exemptions from Washington's sanctions targeting countries importing Iranian oil.

India was granted a waiver from Iran oil sanctions in November and has been seeking to extend it until May.

US sanctions against Iran were reinstated last year after the United States withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which provided for the relief of economic sanctions against Tehran in return for Iran's pledge to keep its nuclear program peaceful.