Highlights:
- Moscow denies receiving notice from India on ending oil imports
- Trump links tariff cuts to India halting Russian oil purchases
- Kremlin stresses importance of Russia-India strategic ties
- India remains one of Russia’s largest crude oil buyers
- Energy security cited as key factor in India’s oil strategy
Russia has said it has not received any official communication from India regarding a halt to purchases of Russian oil, following president Donald Trump’s announcement that New Delhi had agreed to stop buying Russian energy as part of a new trade deal with Washington.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov addressed the issue on Tuesday (3), saying Moscow had not been informed of any such decision by the Indian government. “So far, we haven’t heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter,” Peskov told reporters.
He added that while Russia respects the bilateral relationship between the United States and India, Moscow places significant importance on its own long-standing partnership with New Delhi. “We respect US-Indian relations, but we attach no less importance to the development of an advanced strategic partnership between Russia and India,” Peskov said. “This is extremely important for us, and we intend to continue developing our bilateral relations with Delhi.”
President Trump announced the US-India trade deal on Monday (2), stating that tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced from 50 percent to 18 per cent. According to Trump, the tariff reduction was agreed upon in exchange for India halting its purchases of Russian oil and increasing imports from the United States. He also suggested that India could potentially source oil from Venezuela.
“He [Prime Minister Modi] agreed to stop buying Russian oil and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela,” Trump said. He added that such a move would help bring an end to the war in Ukraine, noting that “thousands of people are dying each and every week.”
India has not yet publicly confirmed Trump’s claim. Historically, India has been one of the largest buyers of Russian crude oil, particularly since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war. According to data from global trade analytics firm Kpler, India has been importing roughly 1.5 million barrels of Russian crude per day. This accounts for more than one-third of India’s total oil imports, making the country the second-largest buyer of Russian crude after China.
The Indian government has repeatedly defended its continued oil trade with Russia, describing it as essential to the country’s energy security. India depends heavily on imported oil to meet most of its domestic demand and has argued that securing affordable energy supplies is a national priority.
Traditionally, India’s relationship with Russia was more centered on defense cooperation than energy. For decades, Russia supplied a significant portion of India’s military hardware while accounting for only a small share of its oil imports. However, after Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine, Russia began offering crude oil at discounted rates.
India took advantage of the opportunity, significantly increasing its imports as Russia sought new buyers to support its economy and sustain funding for the war. As recently as December 2025, Russian president Vladimir Putin said during a visit to New Delhi that Russia was prepared to continue “uninterrupted shipments” of fuel to India despite pressure from the United States.
Trump had previously said in February last year that India would begin purchasing American oil and natural gas following discussions with Indian prime minister Modi. However, those talks failed to produce immediate results, and earlier US tariff measures did little to alter India’s position on Russian oil imports.
