Iran to Sell Oil to India Regardless of Outstanding Debt

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran said despite an outstanding $2 billion debt it has decided to continue selling oil to India.
India is of strategic importance to Iran, while New Delhi, with its huge energy consumption needs, sees Iran as a strategic supplier.

Last Tuesday, Iran and India agreed to continue discussions on crude oil payment issues in future meetings.

The Indian Finance Ministry announced last Tuesday that it is exploring alternatives to pay for its oil purchases from Iran, however, it said, no date has been set for the next round of talks with Iranian officials.

India currently owes Iran $2bln for oil imports in recent months.

Earlier Tuesday, a delegation led by the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Hamid Borhani, and an Indian delegation led by the Secretary of the Department of Economic Affairs, R. Gopalan, met for the second consecutive day to hold talks on the issue, the Indian Finance Ministry announced in a statement on Tuesday.

It said the two sides held detailed and constructive discussions.

The question of crude oil payments to Iran came into focus in December, when India's central bank stopped payments to Tehran through the Asian Clearing Union.

India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Iran, Myanmar, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are members of the union. Washington believes Tehran is using the financial clearing house to evade international sanctions.

India then made some overdue payments to Iran through Germany's Deutsche Bundesbank. But, according to media reports, Germany stopped accepting money from India for Iranian oil payments following criticism from the US and Israeli governments.

Iran is the second-largest crude supplier to India after Saudi Arabia and accounts for about 13%-14% of the country's oil import bill.