New Delhi, Oct. 28 -- India's largest oil refiner, Indian Oil Corp. Ltd (IOC), on Tuesday said it will "absolutely not" halt buying Russian crude and will also comply with international sanctions. The statement underscores India's attempt to balance energy security with growing global restrictions, even as fresh US measures target major Russian suppliers Rosneft and Lukoil.

"We are absolutely not going to discontinue (buying Russian crude) as long as we are complying with the sanctions. Russian crude is not sanctioned. It is the entities and the shipping lines which have got sanctions," Anuj Jain, director (finance) at the state-owned firm, said in an analysts' call. He said the company maintains a database of sanctioned entities and wil...