India buying Russian oil is a point of irritation for US, but not the only one: Marco Rubio
India-US trade talks: US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that there are other points of contention for Washington as New Delhi resists its demands.
- Aug 1, 2025,
- Updated Aug 1, 2025 8:39 AM IST
Purchasing Russian oil is a “point of irritation” for the US but it isn’t the only one, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about India’s trade deal talks. Purchases of sanctioned Russian oil are helping Moscow’s war effort, he said.
In an interview with Fox Radio, Rubio said India’s purchases of Russian oil are helping Moscow sustain its war in Ukraine and is "most certainly a point of irritation” in the relationship between New Delhi and Washington. He said US President Donald Trump is frustrated with the fact that India buys oil from Russia despite having many other available oil vendors.
“India has huge energy needs and that includes the ability to buy oil and coal and gas and things that it needs to power its economy like every country does, and it buys it from Russia, because Russian oil is sanctioned and cheap. In many cases, they’re selling it under the global price because of the sanctions,” said Rubio.
"Unfortunately, that is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India – not the only point of irritation. We also have many other points of cooperation with them," the US Secretary of State said.
One of the other points Rubio referred to is the opening up of the Indian agriculture and dairy sectors to the US, which New Delhi has resisted. Washington has pushed for greater access to India’s agricultural market, particularly for GM crops, dairy, and products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds, and ethanol.
New Delhi has argued that opening up the sectors would impact the livelihoods of millions of small farmers. India has said this step is not possible as of now. According to officials, such a step could hurt over 700 million rural people, including around 80 million small dairy farmers.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also said that Trump and his team are frustrated with India. "Well, I don't know what's going to happen. It'll be up to India. They came to the table early, but they've been slow-rolling things. So I think the president and the whole trade team have been frustrated with them. Also, India has been a large buyer of sanctioned Russian oil, which they then resell as refined products. So, they have not been a great global actor,” said Bessent to CNBC.
Purchasing Russian oil is a “point of irritation” for the US but it isn’t the only one, said US Secretary of State Marco Rubio about India’s trade deal talks. Purchases of sanctioned Russian oil are helping Moscow’s war effort, he said.
In an interview with Fox Radio, Rubio said India’s purchases of Russian oil are helping Moscow sustain its war in Ukraine and is "most certainly a point of irritation” in the relationship between New Delhi and Washington. He said US President Donald Trump is frustrated with the fact that India buys oil from Russia despite having many other available oil vendors.
“India has huge energy needs and that includes the ability to buy oil and coal and gas and things that it needs to power its economy like every country does, and it buys it from Russia, because Russian oil is sanctioned and cheap. In many cases, they’re selling it under the global price because of the sanctions,” said Rubio.
"Unfortunately, that is helping to sustain the Russian war effort. So it is most certainly a point of irritation in our relationship with India – not the only point of irritation. We also have many other points of cooperation with them," the US Secretary of State said.
One of the other points Rubio referred to is the opening up of the Indian agriculture and dairy sectors to the US, which New Delhi has resisted. Washington has pushed for greater access to India’s agricultural market, particularly for GM crops, dairy, and products like corn, soybeans, apples, almonds, and ethanol.
New Delhi has argued that opening up the sectors would impact the livelihoods of millions of small farmers. India has said this step is not possible as of now. According to officials, such a step could hurt over 700 million rural people, including around 80 million small dairy farmers.
Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also said that Trump and his team are frustrated with India. "Well, I don't know what's going to happen. It'll be up to India. They came to the table early, but they've been slow-rolling things. So I think the president and the whole trade team have been frustrated with them. Also, India has been a large buyer of sanctioned Russian oil, which they then resell as refined products. So, they have not been a great global actor,” said Bessent to CNBC.