<h1>Government defends discounted crude purchases and refined sales as lawful strategic autonomy amid sanctions and price-cap dispute</h1> A government representative rejected accusations by another state that its purchase of discounted crude and sale of refined products constitutes a 'profiteering scheme,' asserting procurement is a lawful exercise of strategic autonomy driven by national and global market-stabilization interests. The representative noted prior bilateral discussions that did not oppose purchases and pointed to the G7 price cap as recognition of ongoing trade. The dispute raises issues under international trade and sanctions regimes: whether discounted purchases and downstream sales breach sanctions or price-cap mechanisms, how enforcement applies across different importers, and whether alleged funding of a targeted state through trade constitutes prohibited support under applicable sanctions.