Trump claimed India won't buy Russian oil; MEA now responds
What's the story
India has responded to United States President Donald Trump's claim that it has agreed to stop buying Russian oil. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) emphasized that ensuring energy security for India's 1.4 billion people is its top priority. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "In so far as India's energy security or sourcing is concerned...ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion is the supreme priority of the government."
Energy diversification
India emphasizes energy security amid Trump's Russian oil claim
Jaiswal added that India's strategy revolves around diversifying energy sourcing according to market conditions and international dynamics. He said, "Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this." In his announcement, Trump had also claimed that India will buy much more oil from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela, after stopping Russian oil purchases.
Venezuela partnership
India open to buying Venezuelan oil as part of strategy
To that claim, Jaiswal said that India is open to buying oil from Venezuela as part of its energy diversification strategy. He said, "As far as Venezuela is concerned, it has been a long-standing partner for us...We were importing energy and crude oil from Venezuela until 2019-20, after which we had to stop." "Consistent with our approach to energy security, India remains open to exploring the commercial merits of any crude supply, including from Venezuela."
Russian response
Russia awaits response from India on US-India trade deal
Russia has also reacted to Trump's claim, saying India is free to buy crude oil from any country it wants. "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," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. However, Peskov stated that Moscow has received no official notification from India regarding the termination.