NEW DELHI, May 18 (Reuters) - India has been buying Russian oil irrespective of U.S. sanctions waivers, Sujata Sharma, a joint secretary in the petroleum ministry, said on Monday.
"Regarding (the) American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasize that we have been purchasing from Russia earlier ... I mean before waiver also, during waiver also, and now also," she told a media briefing.
"It is basically the commercial sense which should be there for us to purchase ... There is no shortage of crude. Enough crude has been tied up repeatedly ... and this, whatever waiver or no waiver, it will not affect," she said.
(Reporting by Nidhi Verma and Shanima Aniyeri; Editing by YP Rajesh)
