India Will Continue Buying Oil From Iran: FM

New Delhi, April 13, IRNA -- India will continue to buy oil from ˈvital supplierˈ Iran, said Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai on Thursday in Berlin. ˈWe will continue to buy oil from Iran,ˈ Mathai said, adding that the recent decline in oil import from Iran was due to logistics and banking problems and not because of any other reason. Mathai, who is part of the delegation accompanying Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, stressed that import decisions are taken by the oil marketing companies on commercial basis and the government has no role in the recent decline in the purchases from Iran, pti reported. Refusing to ˈlay down a quotaˈ for importing oil from any country, including Iran, top Indian officials have made it clear that it will buy oil wherever it ˈgets the best dealˈ. Asked if there was a particular amount of oil supply India was looking at from Iran, they said there was no ˈmagic figureˈ. ˈIt makes no sense to have a quota. (It is) where we get the best deal...We have to get the best deal for India rather than lay down quotas and lay figures and restrict our freedom,ˈ they said./end