Russia stated on Wednesday (4 February) that India is free to purchase oil from any country, dismissing claims by US President Donald Trump that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian crude.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Russia is not India’s only oil supplier and there is nothing new about New Delhi diversifying its crude sources.
The response comes two days after Trump announced a trade deal with India, claiming it included a halt to Russian oil purchases and a shift towards American and Venezuelan crude.
Trump said he would reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent in exchange. While PM Modi welcomed the tariff reduction on social media, he made no mention of any agreement to end Russian oil purchases.
Peskov emphasised that Moscow has received no official statement from India regarding cessation of Russian oil purchases.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the hydrocarbons trade is beneficial for both countries and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market.
Russia is ready to continue close cooperation with Indian partners in this area, she added at a press briefing.
India became the largest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Russian oil made up barely 0.2 per cent of India’s total crude imports until 2021, but the world’s third-largest oil importer now sources around 30 per cent from Russia.
Recent data from analytics firm Kpler shows India’s imports of Russian crude declined to about 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, down from an average of 1.21 million barrels per day in the previous month.
Energy experts noted that Indian refineries cannot easily substitute Russian crude with American oil. Igor Yushkov from the National Energy Security Fund explained that American shale oil consists of light grades, while Russia supplies relatively heavy, sulphur-rich Urals crude.
This means India would need to blend US crude with other grades, incurring additional costs and making simple substitution impossible.
Russia typically exports 1.5 million to two million barrels per day to India, a volume America cannot cover, he added.
