India To Continue To Buy Russian Oil Despite US Threats

The Indian government has not requested its oil refining industry companies to oil companies to cut back imports from Russia, according to Randhir Jaiswal, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson. He stated that “As far as sourcing India’s energy requirements is concerned, we take decisions based on the price at which oil is available in the international market and depending on the global situation at that time. The government had not given any direction to oil companies to cut back imports from Russia.”

His remarks come as US President Donald Trump had stated on Saturday (August 2) that “I understand India no longer is going to be buying oil from Russia. That’s what I heard. I don’t know if that’s right or not, but that’s a good step. We’ll see what happens.”

India has become one of Russia’s largest oil customers since Western sanctions drove down prices, helping Moscow maintain crucial export revenues whilst providing New Delhi with cheaper energy to fuel its growing economy. Earlier in the week, Trump formalised 25% tariffs on Indian exports through an executive order covering around 70 nations, though the document notably omitted the additional “penalty” he had previously threatened over India’s Russian energy purchases – a measure that Washington could still take.

The US president has repeatedly criticised India’s energy ties with Russia whilst announcing punitive trade measures. Declaring a “massive trade deficit with India,” Trump argued that while “India is our friend, we have, over the years, done relatively little business with them because their tariffs are far too high, among the highest in the world.”

He described India as having “the most strenuous and obnoxious non-monetary Trade Barriers of any country,” while noting that “they have always bought a vast majority of their military equipment from Russia, and are Russia’s largest buyer of energy, along with China, at a time when everyone wants Russia to stop the killing in Ukraine.”

Two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday, not wishing to be identified, that “These are long-term oil contracts. It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.”

Russia is the leading supplier to India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, accounting for about 35% of its overall supplies. India imported about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russian oil from January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago.

Justifying India’s oil purchases, India’s Energy Minister has previously stated said India’s imports of Russian grades had helped avoid a global surge in oil prices, which have remained subdued despite Western curbs on the Russian oil sector.

Unlike Iranian and Venezuelan oil, Russian crude is not subject to direct sanctions, and India is buying it below the current price cap fixed by the European Union. However, sources told Reuters this week that Indian state refiners stopped buying Russian oil after July discounts narrowed to their lowest since 2022—when sanctions were first imposed on Moscow—due to lower Russian exports and steady demand. Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, Bharat Petroleum Corp and Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd have not sought Russian crude in the past week or so.

Indian refines Russian oil and then uses it both for its domestic demand and for added-value exports, much of which goes to the European Union.