On top of anew 25% tariffon India’s exports to the U.S., Trumpindicatedin a Truth Social postlast monththat India would face additional penaltiesforpurchases of Russian arms andoil. On Friday, Trump told reporters he had heard that India would no longer be buyingoilfrom Russia.
But the sources said there would be no immediate changes.
“These are long-termoilcontracts,” one of the sources said. “It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.”
Justifying India’soilpurchases from Russia, a second source said India’s imports of Russian grades had helped avoid a global surge inoilprices, which have remained subdued despite Western curbs on the Russianoilsector.
Unlike Iranian and Venezuelanoil, Russian crude is not subject to direct sanctions, and India is buying it below the current price cap fixed by the European Union, the source said.
The New York Timesalso quotedtwo unnamed senior Indian officialson Saturday assaying there had been no change in Indian government policy.
Indian government authorities did not respond to Reuters’ request for official comment on itsoilpurchasing intentions.
However, during a regular press briefing on Friday, foreign ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India has a “steady and time-tested partnership” with Russia.
“On ourenergysourcing requirements … we look at what is there available in the markets, what is there on offer, and also what is the prevailing global situation or circumstances,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
INDIA’S TOP SUPPLIER
Trump, who has made ending Russia’s war in Ukraine a priority of his administration since returning to office this year, has expressed growing impatience with Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks.
He has threatened100% tariffs onU.S. imports from countriesthat buy Russianoilunless Moscow reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine.
Russia is the leading supplier to India, the world’s third-largestoilimporter and consumer, accounting for about 35% of its overall supplies.
India imported about 1.75 million barrels per day of Russianoilfrom January to June this year, up 1% from a year ago, according to data provided to Reuters by sources.
But while the Indian government may not be deterred by Trump’s threats,sources told Reutersthis week that Indian state refiners stopped buying RussianoilafterJuly discountsnarrowed to their lowest since 2022–whensanctions were first imposed onMoscow–due to lower Russian exports and steady demand.
IndianOilCorpIOC.NS, Hindustan Petroleum CorpHPCL.NS, Bharat Petroleum CorpBPCL.NSand Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical LtdMRPL.NShave not sought Russian crude in the past week or so, four sources told Reuters.
NayaraEnergy–arefinery majority-owned by Russian entities, includingoilmajor RosneftROSN.MM, andmajor buyer of Russianoil–was recentlysanctionedby the EU.
Nayara’s chief executiveresigned following the sanctions, and three vessels laden withoilproducts from NayaraEnergyhave yet to discharge their cargoes, hindered by the new EU sanctions,Reuters reportedlast week.
(Reporting by Shivam Patel in New Delhi and Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Nidhi Verma and Mayank Bhardwaj; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Susan Fenton and Joe Bavier)
