After India-US trade deal, Russia says India can buy oil from any source

Russia on Wednesday said India remains free to buy crude oil from any country and that New Delhi’s diversification of energy sources is neither new nor aimed at reducing dependence on Moscow.

The statement follows US President Donald Trump’s claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and instead source crude from the United States — and possibly Venezuela — under a recent trade understanding.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov rejected suggestions that any shift in India’s oil sourcing would be unusual, stressing that Russia has never been India’s only energy supplier. “Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from various countries, and there is nothing new in this,” Peskov said at a press briefing.

India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has also reiterated that New Delhi is expanding and diversifying its energy basket to navigate global volatility and ensure energy security. Peskov added that Moscow has received no official communication from India indicating a halt to Russian oil purchases, repeating that no such signal has come from New Delhi.

Echoing that position, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said energy cooperation between the two countries remains mutually beneficial. “India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons benefits both sides and helps maintain stability in the global energy market,” Zakharova said, adding that Moscow is ready to continue close cooperation with Indian partners.

Analysts flag limits to substitution

Russian energy analysts have cautioned that replacing Russian crude entirely would be difficult for Indian refiners.

Igor Yushkov of the National Energy Security Fund said US shale oil exports largely consist of light crude, while Indian refineries are configured to process heavier, sulphur-rich Russian Urals crude. “India would have to blend US oil with other grades, which raises costs. A direct replacement is not feasible,” he said.

Yushkov also noted that Russia typically supplies between 1.5 and 2 million barrels per day of crude to India — volumes that the US would struggle to match in the short term. “Trump appears to be presenting the talks as a win entirely on US terms,” he said.

He recalled that when Russia redirected oil exports from Europe and the US to Asia in 2022, output cuts of around one million barrels per day pushed global prices close to $120 a barrel, triggering record fuel prices in the US.

Trump had last year imposed steep tariffs on Indian imports over New Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian energy, which Washington says helps finance Russia’s war in Ukraine. He recently announced a trade deal reducing tariffs on Indian goods from 50 per cent to 18 per cent, with immediate effect.

India imports nearly 88 per cent of the crude it refines into fuels such as petrol and diesel. Russian oil accounted for just 0.2 per cent of India’s crude imports until 2021, but following Western sanctions on Moscow after its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, India emerged as the largest buyer of discounted Russian crude.

Data from analytics firm Kpler shows India’s Russian crude imports easing to about 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, down from an average of 1.21 million bpd in December and from over 2 million bpd recorded in mid-2025.