(MENAFN- Live Mint) In response to Donald Trump's claim that India will stop procuring discounted crude oil from Russia, a move he has slammed as "supporting" Moscow's war on Ukraine, Russian ambassador to India Denis Alipov said that "Russian oil is important for the Indian economy".

Alipov stated, "It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario".

"We proceed from the understanding of Indian government policy... it reflects the national interest of the Indian people and national economy, and those goals will not contradict Russia-India relations. We will continue discussing cooperation with India regarding oil and gas," Alipov was quoted as saying.

The statement also clarified that Russia has no intention of interfering in India-US relations, but at the same time, appeared to remind New Delhi of its long-standing relations with Moscow. "We respect bilateral relations... India has a bilateral relation with Russia," it noted.

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“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. Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy. This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions,” Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a statement.

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

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