Commentary
Russia has an ace up its sleeve to evade oil sanctions imposed by Western nations: India.
Most Western nations have barred direct import of Russian crude. But their losses (both Russia and Western nations) have become India’s gain.
Russia has become India’s largest oil supplier. And with India’s expanding refining infrastructure, the country is poised to be a major player in export of gasoline and diesel.
Here’s the loophole: there are no sanctions against gasoline and diesel refined using Russian crude. And even if there were, sources of crude are hard to track—once crude enters a country, it’s effectively become fungible. …