Days after US President Donald Trump claimed that India would end its oil trade with Russia under a newly finalised trade deal between New Delhi and Washington, Moscow has said it has no reason to believe such a shift is imminent.
Responding to Trump’s assertion, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Russia does not believe its “Indian friends” have changed their approach to energy cooperation with Moscow. She criticised attempts by the US president to dictate the trade decisions of a sovereign nation.
“The US President trying to dictate who an independent country like India can trade with is not new,” Zakharova said. “Russia has no reason to believe our Indian friends have changed their approach.”
Zakharova stressed that India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons remains mutually beneficial and contributes to global energy stability.
“We remain convinced that India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial to both countries and helps maintain stability in the international energy market. We are ready to continue close cooperation in this area with our partners in India,” she said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Trump made the claim on February 2 while announcing a trade deal between India and the US, bringing months of negotiations to a close. Under the agreement, reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports were reduced to 18%, and Trump asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to halt India’s oil trade with Russia.
While India confirmed the reduction in tariffs, it did not acknowledge Trump’s claim regarding the future of India-Russia energy ties.
Offering a more measured response, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said India has always sourced oil from multiple suppliers and remains free to purchase energy from any country.
“Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India,” Peskov said, according to PTI. “India has always purchased these products from other countries. We see nothing new here.”
India’s oil imports from Russia have been a major point of contention in economic relations between New Delhi and Washington. Last year, Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to 50%, citing India’s continued energy trade with Moscow.
As part of the newly announced deal, reciprocal tariffs were reduced from 25% to 18%, with a White House official later confirming to Hindustan Times that the remaining additional penalties had also been removed. Trump claimed that India’s alleged decision to stop buying Russian oil would help bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
India has so far made no public statement addressing Trump’s claim. According to Peskov, Russia has also not received any official communication from New Delhi regarding a halt in Russian oil purchases.
