Indian Foreign Minister S.M Krishna Tuesday said that while Iran is a key source of energy, India needs to look beyond the issue of its own energy needs when considering the country.
Krishna's remarks mark a major shift in New Delhi's diplomatic stance on the Iran issue. Though Indian refiners have been cutting crude oil imports from Iran, the Indian government has publicly maintained that it will continue with its imports despite US financial sanctions imposed against Iran.
Oil Minister S. Jaipal Reddy until late March maintained that India would continue oil imports from Iran. The government even made a tax provision in its 2012-13 union budget to facilitate payments for oil to Iran.
Speaking at a joint press conference with visiting US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Krishna said: "We have a strong interest in peaceful and negotiated settlement of issues relating to Iran's nuclear program. Our stand on Iran's nuclear program is clear."
He urged Iran to live up to its international obligation on nuclear non-proliferation.
Clinton Tuesday said that the US commended steps taken by Indian refiners to reduce their crude oil imports from Iran adding that she hoped to see continuous progress in this direction.
"We commend India for steps its refineries are taking to reduce imports from Iran, we are consulting with India and working with them on alternative sources of supply," Clinton said at a televised press conference in New Delhi. Clinton, who began a three-day trip to India on Sunday, added that the international community must keep the pressure on Iran to bring it back to the negotiating table.
The international community has since December imposed a slew of sanctions against Tehran over what the US and its allies believe is a covert atomic weapons program, and the EU has imposed an embargo on imports of Iranian oil from July 1. Tehran has denied the allegations and says its program is peaceful.
The US has been working hard to get Iran's Asian buyers -- China, Japan, India and South Korea -- to cut their imports from Iran. While the US is yet to make headway with China, Japan has agreed to cut Iranian oil imports by about 20%. Seoul too has broadly agreed to import cuts, but is yet to work out the exact volume.
MIDDLE EAST SECURITY IMPORTANT TO INDIA
Foreign Minister Krishna said India needs to look at the security of the Gulf region and beyond as the Middle East accounts for 60% of the country's energy needs and 6 million Indians work in the region.
Iran remains an important source of energy, but its share in Indian imports was declining, which is well known, he said, adding that given India's growing import needs it was important for the nation to diversify sources.
An official at India's oil ministry said Tuesday that Iran became the country's fourth-largest crude supplier in fiscal 2011-12 (April-March) from second largest in the previous fiscal year. The country supplied 17.44 million mt (350,233 b/d) in 2011-12, down 5.7% from 18.5 million mt the previous year.
The oil ministry source, who declined to be identified, also said that state-owned refiners IOC, BPCL and HPCL did not import any Iranian crude in the month of April.
Essar Oil and Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited, the two largest importers of Iranian crude plan to cut their imports by 10%-15% in the current financial year, sources told Platts earlier. A source close to Essar told Platts Monday that the company had been instructed by the oil ministry to cut its imports of Iranian oil.
IRAN SAYS US EFFORTS THREAT TO ITS INTERESTS
Meanwhile, Iran foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast expressed the hope that the US would not be successful in its bid to pressure India to cut Iranian crude oil imports.
"The issue that Americans are pursuing and the efforts they are making is to pressure countries and eventually threaten interests of our nation and the region's nations," he said in a televised press conference.
