This comes days after US President Donald Trump claimed that India would cut off oil trade with Russia as part of a recent move Trade agreement between New Delhi and Washington finalizedRussian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said there was no reason to believe India would take this step.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Tianjin, China. (via REUTERS)On February 2, Donald Trump announced a trade deal between India and the United States, ending months of stalled negotiations between the countries. Trump said so Tariffs on Indian imports will be reduced 18% under the deal and also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to end India’s oil trade with Russia.
India later confirmed the tariff reduction, but did not acknowledge Trump’s other statements about the future of India-Russia energy relations.
Russia optimistic about ‘Indian friends’Days after Trump’s claims, Russia’s Zakharova said Trump was trying to “dictate” what an independent country should do and that Moscow did not believe its “Indian friends” had changed their views. Power relations with Russia.
“The US president trying to dictate who an independent nation like India can trade with is not new. Russia has no reason to believe that our Indian friends have changed their views,” Zakharova said, adding that trade in resources was beneficial for both India and Russia.
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“We are confident that India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial for both countries and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market. We are ready to continue close cooperation in this regard with our partners in India,” he added, as quoted by news agency PTI.
‘India is free to buy oil from any country’While Zakharova expressed confidence that India would not change its energy trade policy after Trump’s oil demands, Russian Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov offered a different take, saying India was free to buy oil From any country.
“We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always bought these products from other countries. So, we do not see anything new here,” Dmitry Peskov said, according to PTI.
India’s oil trade with Russia has been a major flashpoint amid economic tensions between New Delhi and Washington. Last year, Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50% citing this oil trade.
As he announced a trade deal with India this month, Trump insisted that India had agreed to end energy trade with Moscow, a development he said would help end the war in Ukraine.
Also read: The BTS action that led to the Indo-US trade agreementThe 25% reciprocal duty on Indian imports was reduced to 18% under the agreement and a White House official later confirmed to HT that the remaining 25% additional penalty has also been withdrawn.
India has not yet responded to Trump’s oil trade demands. According to Peskov, no Russian statement has been received from India regarding the cessation of Russian oil purchases.
