WASHINGTON: The White House has reiterated that it is not in India's interest to "accelerate or increase" imports of Russian energy and other commodities, while offering to work with New Delhi to help it reduce its reliance on imports from Moscow.
Responding to questions on the visit of top Indian-American US advisor Daleep Singh to New Delhi last week, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki told reporters at her daily news conference on Monday that he explained both the mechanisms of the American sanctions and reiterated that any country or entity should be abiding by those.
At the same time Psaki said that reporting energy payments by India are not sanctioned and New Delhi's imports of Russian energy represent only one to two per cent of its total energy imports.
Singh, the US Deputy National Security Adviser, who played a key role in designing American sanctions against Russia, was in New Delhi last week in the backdrop of increasing disquiet among Western powers over India not criticising Russia over its attack on Ukraine.
In New Delhi, he had also cautioned that there will be consequences for countries actively attempting to "circumvent or backfill" American sanctions against Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine and said it would not like to see a "rapid" acceleration in India's import of energy and other commodities from Russia.
During her briefing on Monday, Psaki said that "certainly our expectation and our public and private message is, will continue to be that every country should abide by the sanctions that we have announced and that we are implementing around the world."
She said that "energy payments are not sanctioned; that's a decision made by each individual country.
And we've been very clear that each country is going to make their own choices, even as we have made the decision and other countries have made the decision to ban energy imports."
"What Daleep did make clear to his counterparts during this visit was that we don't believe it's in India's interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities," Psaki said.
"Right now, just to give everybody the full scope of it, India's imports of Russian energy represent only 1 to 2 per cent of their total energy imports," she added.
So Singh explained both the "mechanisms of our sanctions and reiterated that any country or entity should be abiding by those, we also made clear that we'd be happy to be a partner in reducing their reliance or even their small percentage of reliance on that," the White House Press Secretary said.
India buys less than one per cent of its total oil imports from Russia.
But Western sanctions against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine have given way to talk of a rupee trade for the oil and gas purchases.
A bipartisan group of American lawmakers has sought the help of the Biden administration in restricting the international trade and sale of Russian-origin diamonds, in view of the massive sanctions that the US and its European allies have imposed on Moscow.
In a letter to Secretary of State Tony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers expressed concern that the sanctions issued by the Treasury Department to target Russia's diamond industry will have a minimal impact on Alrosa and its CEO Sergei Ivanov's ability to freely operate globally.
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Alrosa is the world's largest diamond mining company.
The company, which reported sales worth USD 4.2 billion last year, is responsible for 90 per cent of Russia's diamond mining capacity, which accounts for 28 per cent globally.
It is owned one-third by the Russian government, and until recently, had an office in New York City.
Ivanov is the son of one of Putin's closest allies, Sergei Borisovich Ivanov, who previously served as the Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office, the Deputy Prime Minister and the Defence Minister of Russia and remains a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, the letter said.
According to the Congressmen, the February 24 sanctions that listed Alrosa only blocked debt and equity transactions, making a small dent in Russia's oversized stake in the global diamond trade.
Although an important initial step, along with the designation of Alrosa's CEO, these have yet to impede trade and revenues that eventually reach the Kremlin.
The administration also announced an import ban on March 11 which would ban "products of Russian Federation origin," including non-industrial diamonds, from entering the United States.
"Experts note a "major loophole" remains in the sanctions regime that allows for importation of diamonds manufactured in India or elsewhere because of the interpretation provided in the Office of Foreign Assets Control's frequently-asked questions, they wrote.
Namely, the term "Russian Federation origin" excludes goods "substantially transformed in a third country," and it has long been the view of Customs and Border Protection that the cutting or polishing of diamonds in a third country would qualify as a substantial transformation.
"A recent report on the diamond industry indicated approximately 95 per cent of the world's diamonds are cut and polished in India. Thus, as it stands at this time, a diamond can be mined by an Alrosa subsidiary, polished or cut in India or another country, and sold to the United States without any prohibition, making a profit for the Russian government," wrote the Congressmen.
The lawmakers asked that the Treasury Department reconsider the interpretation of origin that allows for the importation of diamonds from countries that may cut or polish Alrosa's diamonds.
"Second, the United States should work with its Indian counterparts, as well as those in trading centers such as Dubai, to ensure they are not being used to line the pockets of those closest to Vladimir Putin," they said.
Finally, the State and the Treasury Departments should provide guidance to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to ensure they prohibit the importation of Russian diamonds into the United States.
The lawmakers said that Putin's unprovoked and brazen invasion of the sovereign territory of Ukraine should be met with a forceful response from the United States and its partners.
"Luxury goods, especially items like diamonds that are used mainly for export to wealthy nations, should be among the first that Treasury and State Departments consider future action."
"We ask for your consideration of additional actions that would constrain the Kremlin's capacity to access revenue from their diamond industry which could fund the invasion of democratic and sovereign Ukraine," the letter added.