New Delhi: India is “guided” by the necessity to “secure affordable energy” from a number of sources to meet its needs, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said Thursday, days after the US sanctioned two Russian oil firms including Rosneft, which has a large footprint in India.
“We are studying the implications of the recent US sanctions on Russian oil companies. Our decisions naturally take into account the evolving dynamics of the global market. Our position on the larger question of energy sourcing is well known. In this endeavour, we are guided by the imperative to secure affordable energy from diverse sources to meet the energy security needs of our 1.4 billion people,” Jaiswal said at a regular press briefing.
India has maintained that it will continue to purchase oil based on the global market situation to ensure its energy needs are well supplied. Since the war with Ukraine began, Russia has been a major source of energy. Indian refiners bought roughly $56 billion worth of crude oil from Russia in the 2024-2025 financial year. The increased purchases of Russian oil grew particularly due to the price cap imposed by the G7 nations, leading to a discounted price.
However, US President Donald Trump has taken aim at India’s large energy purchases from Russia. In August, Trump imposed tariffs of 50 percent on India, partly as a penalty for New Delhi’s large purchases from Russia. Trump’s aide Peter Navarro labeled the Russia-Ukraine war a “Modi’s war” over India’s continued trade in energy goods with Moscow.
The sanctions are the latest step taken by Trump in pressuring Moscow to negotiate an end to the almost four-year long war with Kyiv. Rosneft, one of the oil giants sanctioned, had a contract to supply 500,000 barrels per day with the Indian refiner Reliance Industries.
With the sanctions and threat of secondary sanctions, Indian firms are likely to rethink their purchase of Russian oil. However, Chinese firms such as Yulong Petrochemicals are set to increase their purchase of Russian crude.
Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov earlier this week told ThePrint that the sanctions will have no effect on Moscow’s policy and that oil is never off the table. Alipov added that if Indian firms choose not to purchase the discounted oil, “others” are willing to swoop in and benefit from Russian crude prices – an indication of potential interest from Chinese firms.
However, Trump Thursday announced that China is set to purchase more American energy with a potential deal in the offing for supply of oil and gas from Alaska. Trump made the comments following his almost 90-minute meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in the South Korean city of Busan.
China has remained a large purchaser of Russian oil as a part of its continuing economic engagement with Moscow. Beijing has maintained a “limitless” partnership with Moscow and has maintained strong security and economic linkages throughout the war with Ukraine.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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