Moscow Denies Any Signal from India on Ending Russian Oil Imports

The Kremlin has not received any messages from New Delhi indicating that India plans to abandon supplies of Russian oil, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Photo: Openverse by Paul Lowry, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Oil extraction

Trump earlier announced after a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India had agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil and would lower tariffs on Indian goods exported to the United States. Modi later confirmed the tariff reduction but did not mention India's refusal from Russian hydrocarbon supplies.

"So far, we have not heard any statements on this matter from Delhi,” Peskov emphasized.

Kremlin Watches US-India Talks Closely

Peskov noted that Moscow respects the development of bilateral relations between the United States and India and is carefully monitoring statements made by the American president.

"We carefully record and analyze them,” he said.

At the same time, the Kremlin attaches no less importance to the continued development of Russia's advanced strategic partnership with India, which has long included close cooperation in the energy sector.

What Modi Confirmed — and What He Did Not

Prime Minister Narendra Modi confirmed that India had concluded a deal with the United States under which tariffs on Indian goods would be reduced from 25 percent to 18 percent.

"Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement,” Modi wrote on X.

However, Modi did not address one of the key conditions publicly promoted by the US president — a complete refusal from purchasing Russian oil.

Trump Links Energy Trade to Ukraine Conflict

Earlier, Trump stated on the social media platform Truth Social that Modi had allegedly agreed to halt purchases of Russian crude in favor of importing oil from the United States and possibly Venezuela. According to Trump, such steps would help bring an end to the fighting in Ukraine, "which is going on right now.”

The US president also claimed that New Delhi aims to reduce both tariff and non-tariff barriers against American goods to zero. Under the current deal, Trump said, Indian companies would purchase more than $500 billion worth of US products, including energy, coal, and agricultural goods.

Previous Claims and Market Reality

In November 2025, Trump already stated that India had nearly stopped buying Russian oil. At the time, traders reported only a decline in volumes following the introduction of new US sanctions.

In late January, media reports indicated that Russian suppliers had lowered prices for Indian buyers to between $22 and $25 per barrel to preserve market share. These levels are close to the cost of production, highlighting the growing pressure on Russian exporters amid sanctions and geopolitical uncertainty.