Russia backs India's right to choose trade partners, commits to partnership

Russia reaffirms defence ties with India, backs sovereign right to choose trade partners; statement comes after Trump's accusations of India's crude oil purchases funding Russia's conflict with Ukrain

The Russian government on Wednesday backed India’s right to decide its trade relationships, asserting that sovereign nations are entitled to set the terms of economic cooperation based on their own national interests.

 

Responding to questions about recent threats from the United States over India’s trade with Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We believe that sovereign countries must have and do have the right to choose their trade partners, the partners in trade and economic cooperation, on their own and independently determine those modes of trade and economic cooperation that suit the interests of a country in question.”

Defence ties reaffirmed

Separately, Russia’s Deputy Defence Minister, Col. General Aleksandr Fomin, recently held talks with Vinay Kumar, India’s ambassador to Russia, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence.

 

The ministry said both sides discussed current issues relating to defence cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to deepening the strategic partnership between the two countries.

Trump threatens tariff hike over oil trade

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump said tariffs on Indian imports would be raised “very substantially” within the next 24 hours, up from the existing 25 per cent. 

 

He linked the proposed increase to India’s continued oil trade with Russia, alleging that such purchases were helping to fund Russia’s military actions in Ukraine.

 

“They're fuelling the war machine, and if they're going to do that, then I'm not going to be happy,” Trump said in an interview with CNBC.

India rejects US criticism as unjustified

India strongly objected to the US stance, describing it as unfair and lacking justification. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the government would take all necessary measures to safeguard national interests and economic security.

 

“Where the United States is concerned, it continues to import from Russia uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV industry, fertilisers, as well as chemicals. In this background, the targeting of India is unjustified and unreasonable. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to safeguard its national interests and economic security,” the MEA said in a statement. 

 

The ministry also reiterated that India began importing oil from Russia only after traditional suppliers redirected their energy exports to Europe following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict.

 

India has consistently maintained that its energy decisions are guided by national interest and shaped by global market dynamics and prevailing conditions.