EAM Jaishankar hits out at unilateral sanctions days before expiry of U.S. Russian oil waiver

📌 Summary:

• Delivering the national statement at the BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting chaired by India, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar hit out at unilateral, non-United Nations sanctions, calling them unjustified

• He called on the BRICS grouping of emerging economies to collectively address the problem of such sanctions

• The meeting was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, representing two heavily sanctioned countries

• India is awaiting the United States' decision on extending its waiver on sanctions against the import of Russian oil

• With the latest waiver in place, India's Russian crude imports surged to 1.96 million barrels per day in May, up from 1.57 million barrels per day in April

🎯 UPSC Relevance: GS2 — India's strategic autonomy, the legitimacy of unilateral versus UN-mandated sanctions, BRICS as a platform for the Global South, and energy security

📝 Prelims Facts:

• The BRICS Foreign Ministers meeting was chaired by India

• India's Russian crude oil imports rose to 1.96 million barrels per day in May 2026

• Unilateral sanctions are those imposed by individual countries outside the UN Security Council framework

🔑 Key Term: Unilateral sanctions — coercive economic measures imposed by a country or bloc without authorisation from the UN Security Council, often contested as violating international law