India free to buy oil from any country, nothing new in diversifying crude sources: Russia

India is free to purchase oil from any country and there is nothing new in its efforts to diversify crude suppliers, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, amid claims by US President Donald Trump that New Delhi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil.

“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,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov was responding to questions on Trump’s assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to halt Russian oil imports and switch to buying crude from the United States and potentially Venezuela.

A day earlier, Peskov had said Russia had not received any statement from India regarding cessation of purchases of Russian oil.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the hydrocarbons trade was beneficial for both India and Russia.

“We remain convinced that India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial to both countries and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market. We are ready to continue close cooperation in this area with our partners in India,” Zakharova said at a press briefing.

Trump on Monday announced what he described as a trade deal with India following a phone call with Modi, claiming New Delhi had agreed to end purchases of Russian oil, while Washington would reduce tariffs on Indian goods.

In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said it was “an honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi” and described him as “one of my greatest friends and a powerful and respected leader”.

He said the leaders discussed trade and ending the Russia-Ukraine war, adding that India would buy more energy from the US and possibly Venezuela.

Trump also announced that reciprocal tariffs on Indian imports into the US would be cut from 25% to 18% with immediate effect, while India would eliminate tariffs and non-tariff barriers on US products.

“At the request of Prime Minister Modi, effective immediately we agreed to a Trade Deal… This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Trump wrote.

Modi, in a post on X, thanked Trump on behalf of 1.4 billion people of India for the tariff announcement and welcomed the reduction in duties for Made in India products, saying cooperation between the two largest democracies would unlock “immense opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation”.

However, unlike Trump, PM Modi did not mention any agreement on stopping Russian oil imports.

India, which imports around 90% of its oil requirements, had ramped up purchases of discounted Russian crude after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

According to estimates, India’s monthly Russian oil purchases have recently shown signs of slowing.

India slipped to third place among buyers of Russian fossil fuels in December after Reliance Industries and state-run refiners sharply cut crude imports, data from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) showed.

India’s total imports of Russian hydrocarbons fell to 2.3 billion euros in December from 3.3 billion euros a month earlier, CREA said.