‘Nothing new, India free to buy oil from other countries': Kremlin on Trump's claims over Russian oil

As United States President Donald Trump and his administration maintain that India has agreed to “stop” buying Russian oil, Kremlin on Wednesday reacted to the claims, saying New Delhi was free to buy from any country. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, “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,” he said.

The Kremlin spokesperson was asked about Trump's claim that India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and switch to purchasing crude from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela.

While announcing the India-US trade deal, Trump also claimed that India had agreed to stop buying Russian oil.

“It was an Honor to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India, this morning. He is one of my greatest friends and, a Powerful and Respected Leader of his Country. We spoke about many things, including Trade, and ending the War with Russia and Ukraine. He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Monday.

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

A day after the India-US trade deal was announced, 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.

Meanwhile, Igor Yushkov, a leading expert at the National Energy Security Fund, said that Indian refiners cannot fully stop the import of Russian crude.

Yushkov said, “The American shale oil they export is light grades, similar to gas condensate. Russia, on the other hand, supplies relatively heavy, sulfur-rich Urals. This means India will need to blend US crude with other grades, which incurs additional costs, meaning a simple substitution won't be possible.”

“Russia typically exports 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day to the country. America won't be able to cover that volume. So, one gets the sense that Trump is simply trying to show that he won these trade negotiations and the deal was concluded entirely in line with US demands,” he said.

Last year, Donald Trump imposed 50% tariffs on India-25% over its oil purchases from Russia. India imports about 88% of its crude oil, which is then refined into fuels like petrol and diesel.

Russian oil made up hardly 0.2% of all crude oil India imported till 2021. India, the world's third-largest oil importer, became the largest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

India's import of Russian crude oil dropped to around 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, from an average of 1.21 million bpd in the previous month and over 2 million bpd imports in mid-2025, according to data from real-time analytics company Kpler.

(With agency inputs)