'Based on false facts': Kanwal Sibal on top US official's 'India made profits' claim to defend US tariffs

Former Foreign Secretary of India Kanwal Sibal recently took to social media to counter US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after the latter defended Washington's decision to impose additional tariffs on India over its Russian oil imports while taking no such action on China.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Sibal claimed that Bessent is actively contributing to the deterioration of the India-US relationship. "Bessent is contributing actively to creating tensions with India. Based on false facts to boot," he said on social media. 

He also explained that China's dependence on Russian crude oil was more than marginal, contrary to what Bessent said. 

"China imports from Russia of crude oil was US$62.59 billion during 2024. In July 2025, China was the largest importer of Russian oil, followed by India and Turkey."

Towards the end of his post, Sibal also mentioned that the Power of Siberia pipeline operated by Gazprom transports gas from Eastern Siberia to China. He added that Gazprom is a key component of Russia's energy strategy and a significant gas supply source for China. 

What did Scott Bessent say? 

In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said that China's reliance on Russian crude oil grew marginally compared to New Delhi's sharp escalation. 

"Let's go back and look at the history. And China importing it is suboptimal. But if you go back and look pre-2022, 13% of China's oil was already coming from Russia. Now it's 16%. So, China has a diversified input of oil," Bessent said.  

In contrast, he mentioned that India's imports rose from negligible levels to a whopping 42 per cent.

"So, India is just profiteering. They are reseling. They made $16 billion in excess profits. Some of the richest families in India. So, this is a completely different thing. What I would call the Indian arbitrage, buying cheap Russian oil, reselling it as product has just sprung up during the war, which is unacceptable."

He said that such purchases were helping Russia sustain its war economy, adding that more than 25 per cent of its GDP came from military buildup.