‘Key US goal is to weaken the Indo-Russian relationship': Brahma Chellaney on Marco Rubio's visit

A key US goal is to weaken the India-Russia relationship, said geostrategist Brahma Chellaney after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s two-day visit to India. Rubio met external affairs minister S Jaishankar and went to Jamnagar to pay a visit to Reliance’s refinery.

“A key US goal is to weaken the Indo-Russian relationship by steering India farther away from Russian crude. While Rubio framed India’s efforts to diversify its energy portfolio as a “smart thing to do,” Washington’s underlying diplomatic objective is to get India to substitute Russian oil with US crude and US-controlled Venezuelan oil,” said Chellaney, adding that Rubio wants the world’s largest oil-refining complex in Jamnagar to process more Venezuelan crude.

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Chellaney said Rubio wants India to buy more US energy as well as more Venezuelan oil, whose export revenues are directly deposited into an account controlled by the US Treasury, with Washington determining when, how much and for what purposes the funds are released.

“Washington appears not to be content with India’s rapid emergence since May as a top global buyer of US-sourced and US-controlled energy supplies,” he said.

RUBIO’S JAMNAGAR VISIT

Rubio visited Reliance Industries’ Jamnagar complex as part of efforts by Washington to encourage the Indian conglomerate to refine more Venezuelan crude. Rubio arrived in Jamnagar a day after calling India a crude-refining “superpower” and urging it to process more Venezuelan oil. Accompanied by his wife, Jeanette Dousdebes Rubio, he toured the world’s largest single-site oil-refining complex, Reliance’s Vantara wildlife rescue and conservation centre, and its emerging clean-energy manufacturing hub before leaving for the US.

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Billionaire Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani and most of his family welcomed the delegation. Those present included Nita Ambani, Isha Ambani and her husband Anand Piramal, Anant Ambani and his wife Radhika Merchant, Reliance Industries Executive Director PMS Prasad, and US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor. Officials described the visit as a “private visit”.

Discussions covered the global energy landscape, conventional and new energy, affordable and reliable supplies, technological advances, resilient supply chains, and investment to meet rising demand.

Rubio said that Washington sought closer cooperation with Reliance in refining energy from the Western Hemisphere, calling it beneficial to both countries.

Reliance’s Jamnagar complex can process about 1.4 million barrels of crude a day and supplies diesel and other refined products to global markets. Its ability to handle diverse crude grades makes it strategically important to Washington’s efforts to increase Indian purchases of Venezuelan oil.

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However, Russian crude accounted for about a third of Jamnagar’s feedstock in July-September 2026. Any shift in sourcing will depend on crude prices, freight costs, refinery requirements, and alternative supplies, analysts said.

The visit also highlighted Reliance’s proposed 168,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Brownsville, Texas, being developed by America First Refining. Designed to process US-produced light shale crude, the project could become the first major new US refinery in about five decades. Reliance has signed a long-term agreement to purchase its refined products.