As United States President Donald Trump and his administration claim that India has agreed to “halt” the purchase of Russian oil, the Kremlin has responded to the claims by saying that Delhi can buy from any country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and oil products to India.”
“India has always bought these products from other countries. Hence, we do not see anything new here,” he said.
A Kremlin spokesman was asked about US President Donald Trump’s claim that India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and switch to buying oil from the United States and possibly Venezuela.
Donald Trump, while announcing the trade deal, also claimed that India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil.
“I was honored to speak with Prime Minister Modi of India this morning. He is one of my best friends and a powerful and respected leader of his country. We talked about many things, including trade and ending the war with Russia and Ukraine. He has agreed to stop buying Russian oil and buy much more from the United States and potentially Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR week in and week out in Ukraine!” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
Read also | Trump says India will stop Russian oil. But that is unlikely
A day earlier, Peskov said that Russia had not received any statements from India regarding the suspension of purchases of Russian oil.
A day after the India-US trade deal was announced, State Department spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the hydrocarbons trade was beneficial for both India and Russia.
“We remain convinced that India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial to both countries and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market. We are ready to continue close cooperation in this area with our partners in India,” Zakharova said at a press briefing.
Meanwhile, Igor Yushkov, a leading expert at the National Energy Security Fund, said that Indian refiners cannot completely stop importing Russian oil.
Igor Yushkov said: “The American shale oil that they export is a light grade, similar to gas condensate. Russia, on the other hand, supplies relatively heavy, sulfur-rich Urals. This means that India will have to mix American oil with other grades, which means additional costs, which means that simple substitution will not be possible.”
Read also | India won’t buy Russian oil under US trade deal: White House Press Secretary
“Russia usually exports 1.5 million to 2 million barrels a day to the country. America will not be able to cover this volume. So one gets the feeling that Trump is simply trying to show that he won these trade negotiations and that the deal was made completely in accordance with the demands of the US,” he said.
Last year, Donald Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on India — 25 percent on its oil purchases from Russia. India buys about 88 percent of its crude oil, which is converted into fuels such as gasoline and diesel, from overseas.
Russian oil accounted for barely 0.2 percent of all oil that India imported by 2021. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, has become the biggest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
India’s imports of Russian crude fell to around 1.1 million bpd in the first three weeks of January, from an average of 1.21 million bpd in the previous month and imports of over 2 million bpd by mid-2025, according to data from real-time analytics firm Kpler.
