'Consumer interest priority': Govt on Trump's claim on Russian oil purchase

The MEA's comment came after US President Donald Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India will stop buying oil from Russia

The Centre on Thursday responded to US President Donald Trump's claim about India's Russian oil purchase, saying the government's top priority is to safeguard domestic consumer interests while deepening energy cooperation with Washington.

 

In a statement, Randhir Jaiswal, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said, “India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective.”

 

His comment came after Trump claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that India would stop buying oil from Russia, a move he described as “a big step” in Washington’s efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine, according to Reuters. 

 

Energy prices, secured supplies key goals

Highlighting the government’s energy priorities, Jaiswal noted that stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of India’s energy policy. He added that the policy also focuses on broad-basing India’s energy sourcing and diversifying supplies as needed to adapt to changing market conditions.

 

He further said, “Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed over the last decade. The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing.”

US pressure on India

Trump and other US officials have been pressuring India to stop buying Russian crude. From August 27, the US imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports, including a 25 per cent penalty for purchasing Russian oil.

 

Commenting on India-US relations, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent last month said, “I think at the end of the day, two great countries will get this solved. But the Indians have not been great actors in terms of buying Russian oil and then reselling it, financing the Russian war effort in Ukraine.”