India will keep buying oil from Russia despite recent threats of penalties from U.S. President Donald Trump, according to two unnamed Indian government sources.
“These are long-term oil contracts,” one of the sources said. “It is not so simple to just stop buying overnight.”
On Friday, Trump told reporters that he had heard India would no longer be buying oil from Russia. This followed an earlier post on Truth Social where he threatened additional penalties for countries that purchase Russian arms and and oil. However, Indian officials told The New York Times there has been no change in their government’s policy and that oil companies have not been given any directives to cut back on imports from Russia.
Russia Remains India’s Top Supplier
Russia is still India’s top oil supplier, accounting for about 35% of the country’s total imports. According to data, India received roughly 1.75 million barrels of Russian oil per day from January to June this year, a 1% increase from the same period last year.
Reuters reported this week that Indian state refiners have paused their purchases of Russian crude because the discounts have shrunk to their lowest levels since 2022. The narrowing discounts, along with lower Russian exports, have made Russian crude less attractive to refiners like Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum Corp, and Bharat Petroleum Corp.
India’s Stance on International Relations
India’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that the country’s decisions on energy sourcing are based on what is available in the market and the “prevailing global situation or circumstances.”
He also emphasized that India has a “steady and time-tested partnership” with Russia and that its relationships with various countries are based on their own merits and should not be seen through the “prism of a third country.”
Meanwhile, Nayara Energy, an Indian refiner majority-owned by Russian entities, including Rosneft, was recently sanctioned by the European Union. Reuters also reported last month that Nayara’s chief executive resigned after the sanctions were imposed and that three of its vessels have been unable to discharge their cargo.
