‘Our Priority is to Safeguard Consumer Interests’: India Responds to Trump’s Claims on Stopping Russian Oil Purchase

The Centre responded to US President Donald Trump’s claim about India's Russian oil purchase on Thursday and said that the top priority of the government is to protect domestic consumer interests while strengthening energy cooperation with Washington.

The official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement, “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 remark came after the US President claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India would stop buying oil from Russia, a move he referred to as “a big step” in Washington’s efforts to isolate Moscow over the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Further shedding light on the government’s energy priorities, Jaiswal stated that stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of India’s energy policy, a Business Standard report stated. He further mentioned that the policy also focuses on broad-basing India’s energy sourcing and diversifying supplies as required, in order to adapt to changing market conditions.

“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,” the MEA spokesperson added.

Trump and other US officials have been in a way coercing India to stop buying Russian crude. The US imposed 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports in August, which included a 25 per cent penalty for purchasing Russian oil.

Talking about India-US relations, last month, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent 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.”