India, the No. 2 importer of crude from Russia, wants to buy Russian oil only if it is supplied by companies and ships that have not been sanctioned by the United States, the country's oil secretary said.

U.S. sanctions on Russia should not affect Moscow's oil trade with India, Pavel Sorokin, Russia's first deputy energy minister, said on Tuesday, adding that it was too early to assess the impact of the latest restrictions.

The amount of Russian and Iranian oil held on ships has hit multi-month highs as harsher U.S. sanctions reduced the number of buyers, leaving fewer tankers available to deliver cargoes and driving up crude costs,