India free to buy oil from anywhere: Russia dismisses Trump's claim on ending crude imports

Russia on Wednesday sought to dial down speculation around India’s crude sourcing, saying New Delhi is free to buy oil from any country it chooses and that its efforts to diversify suppliers are neither new nor aimed at Moscow.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Russia has never been India’s sole energy partner and dismissed suggestions that any shift in sourcing would be unusual.

“We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from other countries. Therefore, we see nothing new here,” Peskov said while addressing a press briefing.

Peskov, however, said Moscow has received no official communication from India indicating an end to Russian oil purchases. He added that Russia’s position remains unchanged, noting that similar assertions had been made earlier without any confirmation from New Delhi.

The Kremlin spokesperson reiterated that India’s oil import strategy has long involved multiple suppliers and that Moscow does not view diversification as a departure from past practice or a signal directed against Russia.

White House pushes the oil deal

His remarks came after US President Donald Trump claimed 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 trade understanding.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt even told reporters in the US on Tuesday that New Delhi has agreed to stop buying Russian crude and instead increase purchases from the United States, describing it as a commitment secured through a Trump–Modi phone call.

Leavitt’s remarks were made outside the White House, where she linked the oil move to Washington’s broader trade negotiations with India.

Trump said on Sunday that he and Modi had agreed to reset trade terms, after weeks of pressure linked to India’s crude oil imports from Russia. As per Trump’s account, the US will now reduce tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent and remove an additional 25 per cent penalty that was tied specifically to Russian oil purchases.

Modi later confirmed the tariff reduction and welcomed the easing of duties on Indian exports to the US. However, beyond the tariff shift, India has not publicly detailed what other terms, if any, were finalised as part of the talks.