India will continue to buy oil from Russia despite threats of sanctions from US President Donald Trump, two Indian government sources told Reuters on Saturday. The sources asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive political issue.
In addition to Trump imposing a new 25 percent tariff on goods sold from India to the United States, Trump suggested in a post on the social media site Truth Social in July that India would face further tough sanctions for buying Russian weapons and oil.
On Friday, Trump told reporters that he had heard that India would no longer buy oil from Russia. But according to Indian government sources, there will be no immediate changes.
- These are long-term oil contracts, says one source.
- It is not that simple to just stop buying it from one day to the next.
As a justification for India continuing to buy oil from Russia, the other source explains that India's imports have helped prevent a global increase in oil prices. Despite Western sanctions against the Russian oil sector, prices have remained relatively calm.
Unlike oil from Iran and Venezuela, Russian crude is not subject to direct sanctions. And India is buying it at prices below the EU's $60-a-barrel price cap, the source said.
Trump threatens tariffs
Trump has threatened to impose a 100 percent tariff on U.S. imports from countries that buy Russian oil unless Russia signs a peace deal with Ukraine.
Russia is the largest supplier to India, the world's third-largest importer and consumer of oil. About 35 percent of India's total oil supply comes from Russia.
India imported about 1.75 million barrels of Russian oil a day from January to June this year. That's a one percent increase from the same period last year, data show.
Indian authorities did not respond to Reuters' request for official comment.
/ritzau/Reuters
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