India, which has in recent months pushed for allowing Iranian and Venezuelan oil to enter the market to ease the pressure on supplies owing to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, on Thursday sidestepped questions on the resumption of oil imports from Iran which was suspended in the Trump years owing to US sanctions.

The question on restarting oil imports from Iran came up at the weekly briefing of the external affairs ministry in the context of the visit of Iranian deputy foreign minister for political affairs Ali Bagheri Kani.

Kani is also Iran’s chief negotiator on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between Iran and the Permanent Five countries besides Germany to restrict Iran’s nuclear programme in lieu of relief from sanctions.

Former US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the deal in 2018, bringing back the sanctions regime which India fell in line with.

External affairs ministry spokesman Arindam Bagchi did not respond to a direct question on whether India proposed restarting oil imports at Kani’s meetings with external affairs minister S. Jaishankar and foreign secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

“They talked about connectivity, regional and global developments,” Bagchi said, expressing inability to share further details of the meetings.

The Indian readout of the foreign office consultations said: “Both sides discussed the entire gamut of bilateral relations including political, economic, cultural and consular engagement. The two sides reiterated their commitment to continue cooperation for development of the ShahidBehesti terminal of the Chabahar Port.”

Kani also briefed the foreign secretary on the JCPOA. Negotiations to revive it have stalled in recent months.

Earlier this week Iran is reported to have ramped up uranium enrichment at two nuclear sites in response to the second censure resolution passed against it by the global nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.