Moscow/New Delhi: The Kremlin on Tuesday said it has not received any official communication from India regarding a halt in purchases of Russian oil, following US President Donald Trump’s assertion that New Delhi had agreed to stop such imports as part of a trade deal with Washington.
Reacting to Trump’s remarks, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was closely analysing the statements made by the US president about India–Russia energy ties. “So far, we have not heard any statements from Delhi on this issue,” Peskov told reporters when asked directly whether India had decided to stop buying Russian crude.
Trump on Monday announced a trade agreement with India under which US tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. He claimed the tariff cut was in exchange for India halting purchases of Russian oil and lowering certain trade barriers.
Peskov said Russia respects bilateral relations between the United States and India but emphasised that Moscow places significant importance on its own strategic partnership with New Delhi. “We respect bilateral US-Indian relations. But we attach no less importance to the development of an advanced strategic partnership between Russia and India. This is the most important thing for us,” he said, adding that Russia intends to further deepen ties with India.
India emerged as the largest buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude after the Ukraine conflict began in 2022. The surge in imports drew criticism from Western countries, which imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia’s energy sector in an effort to curb Moscow’s revenues and limit its ability to finance the war.
