Kremlin Says India Will Keep Purchasing Oil from Russian

(MENAFN) The Kremlin affirmed on Monday that India will continue purchasing oil from Russia as long as it remains “beneficial,” following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent visit to New Delhi.

“India, being and remaining a sovereign state, carries out foreign trade operations and purchases energy resources where it is beneficial for India,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters during a press briefing.

Peskov’s comments came amid questions about whether India would persist in buying Russian energy despite Washington imposing a 50% tariff on Indian imports, partly in response to the country’s Russian oil purchases amid the ongoing Ukraine conflict.

Last week, Putin visited New Delhi for a state visit, where he met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Following the talks, he reaffirmed Moscow’s commitment to ensuring “uninterrupted fuel supplies” to India.

“And, as far as we understand, our Indian partners will continue this line to ensure their economic interests,” Peskov added in response to the inquiry.

India has labeled the US measures, which took effect in August, as “unjustified and unreasonable,” emphasizing that the US continues to import “uranium hexafluoride for its nuclear industry, palladium for its EV (electric vehicle) industry, and fertilizers, as well as chemicals” from Russia.

US-Russia Relations
On the broader bilateral front, Peskov addressed Russia-US ties, stating that Moscow sees potential for restoring relations with Washington if the “irritants” in their interactions are resolved.

He also weighed in on the US administration’s new national security strategy, expressing concerns over how future administrations might alter the document.

“We certainly appreciate the nuance we see in the new concept. It speaks of the need for dialogue and building constructive, positive relationships,” Peskov said.

He had previously commented on Sunday that the new document aligns “largely consistent” with Russia’s vision and could serve as a “modest guarantee” for continued joint constructive efforts with the US to achieve a settlement in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump’s administration released the national security strategy last week, outlining its foreign policy and defense priorities. The document identified negotiating an "expeditious" end to the more than three-and-a-half-year Russia-Ukraine conflict as a “core interest” of the US.

It further stated that US efforts aim to “stabilize European economies, prevent unintended escalation or expansion of the war, and reestablish strategic stability with Russia, as well as to enable the post-hostilities reconstruction of Ukraine to enable its survival as a viable state.”

The strategy also highlighted the challenge of managing Europe’s relations with Russia, describing them as “deeply attenuated” due to the Ukraine conflict, and stressed that substantial US diplomatic engagement is needed “both to reestablish conditions of strategic stability across the Eurasian landmass, and to mitigate the risk of conflict between Russia and European states.”

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