Russia said India is free to buy oil from any country after US President Donald Trump claimed India has agreed to stop buying Russian oil as part of the trade deal between New Delhi and Washington signed earlier this week. The Kremlin noted that Moscow is not the only crude supplier for New Delhi, and there is nothing new about India’s decision to diversify its crude suppliers.
India has been importing around 1.5 million barrels of Russian crude per day, even after Trump imposed 25 per cent punitive tariffs on Indian goods, according to Kpler, a global trade data provider. New Delhi is the second-largest purchaser of Russian crude, making it over one-third of the overall Indian imports.
“We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from other countries. Therefore, we see nothing new here,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said while responding to a question on the US claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to switch India’s crude purchase from Russia to the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela.
A day earlier, Peskov said that Russia has not received any statements from India regarding the cessation of Russian oil purchases.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry also insisted that the hydrocarbon trade is beneficial for both New Delhi and Moscow.
“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,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a press briefing.
Russia’s private Kommersant FM business radio noted that, unlike President Trump, PM Modi did not mention any agreement on stopping Russian oil imports.