India on Saturday neither confirmed nor denied the Trump administration’s claim that New Delhi has committed to stop buying Russian oil as part of a bilateral trade deal, with the government reiterating that energy purchases will be diversified based on market conditions and international dynamics to ensure the country’s energy security.
People familiar with the matter said India is diversifying its energy purchases for geopolitical reasons, though there are no immediate signs of Russian energy purchases dropping to zero. (PTI)After US President Donald Trump issued an executive order on Friday that removed a 25% punitive tariff imposed on Indian exports last year on the condition that India not resume buying Russian oil, the State Department reiterated a statement from earlier this week that the “top priority” when it comes to energy sources is protecting the energy security of 14 billion citizens.
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Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, while briefing the media on the India-US trade deal, said in response to a question on the US demand that India stop buying Russian oil, that the Ministry of External Affairs could provide information on the matter. Subsequently, the External Affairs Ministry responded to the query by reiterating spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal’s statement at a media briefing on Thursday.
“On India’s energy sources, the government has publicly stated on several occasions that ensuring energy security to 1.4 billion Indians is the highest priority of the government,” Jaiswal told the briefing.
“Our strategy to ensure is at the core of diversifying our energy sources in line with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics. All India’s steps have been and will be taken with this in mind.”
On Monday, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump unveiled a trade deal that slashed US tariffs from an all-time high of 50% to 18%, the US President claimed that the Indian side had “agreed to stop buying Russian oil”. Trump doubled down on this in his executive order, which stated that “India has committed to stop importing oil from the Russian Federation, directly or indirectly. [and] represents that it will purchase US energy products from the US”.
Trump’s executive order also states that the Secretary of State, Treasury Secretary, Commerce Secretary, Homeland Security Secretary, US Trade Representative and other senior officials will recommend additional measures, including reimposition of 25% punitive tariffs, if India resumes importing Russian oil.
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The government is wary of going against Trump’s executive orders, especially given the capricious and transactional decision-making of the current US administration. At the same time, parts of the government believe the U.S. is close to a deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine — the main reason for tariffs linked to energy purchases.
Social media posts by the Prime Minister and Goyal on Saturday about the “framework of an interim trade agreement” concluded by India and the US made no mention of the energy source. An India-US joint statement of the same framework only mentioned that India “intends to purchase” $500 billion in US energy products, aircraft, precious metals, technology products and coking coal over 5 years.
India’s oil purchases from Russia fell to a 38-month low last December, while energy imports from the US rose nearly 31% in the same month compared to December 2024 figures. Russian oil accounted for 35% to 40% of India’s total oil imports last year, but has fallen to less than 25% in recent weeks.
People familiar with the matter said India is diversifying its energy purchases for geopolitical reasons, though there are no immediate signs of Russian energy purchases dropping to zero. India has also kept open the option of buying more oil from Venezuela, where the Trump administration is playing a role in regulating the energy industry.
