MOSCOW– India’s External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar said Thursday that the country’s oil imports from the United States have been rising steadily, pushing back on claims that New Delhi is the biggest buyer of Russian energy.
With the Trump administration set to impose an additional 25 percent tariff on India over its purchases of Russian oil starting August 27, Jaishankar stressed that other nations far outpace India in their trade with Moscow.
“We are not the biggest purchasers of Russian oil. That is China. We are not the biggest purchasers of LNG; that is the European Union. We are not the country which has the biggest trade surge with Russia after 2022; I think there are some countries to the South,” he said during a press briefing in Moscow.
Jaishankar underscored that Washington itself has encouraged India to stabilize global energy markets, which includes buying Russian crude. At the same time, he highlighted that India’s imports from the United States have climbed sharply in recent years.
“Incidentally, we also buy oil from the U.S., and that amount has increased,” he told reporters, adding that cooperation with Russia also extends beyond oil to nuclear energy, fertilizers, labor mobility, and expanded market access.
According to official data, India’s oil and gas imports from the U.S. surged by 51 percent between January and June of this year. Liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports nearly doubled to $2.46 billion in 2024–25 from $1.41 billion the previous fiscal year. Indian Oil Corporation alone placed orders of about 2 million barrels of U.S. crude in August for October delivery, alongside another shipment purchased the same month.
At the same time, India bought about 2 million barrels per day of Russian oil in August, largely to replace shipments from Iraq amid regional tensions. The added Russian supply came at the expense of imports from Iraq and Saudi Arabia, according to data provider Kpler.
Meanwhile, Russian Deputy Ambassador to India Roman Babushkin reaffirmed that Moscow will continue supplying oil to India despite sanctions pressure. He noted that bilateral trade has expanded nearly sevenfold in recent years, with Russia delivering roughly 250 million tonnes of crude annually to India at an average discount of five percent, depending on negotiations. (Source: IANS)
