India is free to buy oil from any country, and there is nothing new about its decision to diversify its crude suppliers, the Kremlin said on Wednesday amid US President Donald Trump's claim that New Delhi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil.
"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 Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said while responding to a question.
He was asked about Trump's claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and switch to purchasing crude from the United States and, potentially, from Venezuela. A day earlier, Peskov said that Russia has not received any statements from India regarding the cessation of Russian oil purchases.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova on Wednesday said that the hydrocarbons trade is beneficial for both India and Russia.
"We remain convinced that India's purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial to both countries and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market. We are ready to continue close cooperation in this area with our partners in India," Zakharova said at a press briefing.
Private Kommersant FM business radio noted that, unlike President Trump, PM Modi did not mention any agreement on stopping Russian oil imports.
Igor Yushkov, a leading expert at the National Energy Security Fund, said that Indian refiners cannot fully stop the import of Russian crude.
"The American shale oil they export is light grades, similar to gas condensate. Russia, on the other hand, supplies relatively heavy, sulfur-rich Urals. This means India will need to blend US crude with other grades, which incurs additional costs, meaning a simple substitution won't be possible," he said.
"Russia typically exports 1.5 million to 2 million barrels per day to the country. America won't be able to cover that volume. So, one gets the sense that Trump is simply trying to show that he won these trade negotiations and the deal was concluded entirely in line with US demands," he said.
Last time, when Russia switched to the Indian market from European and American markets in 2022, it cut production by 1 million barrels per day. This led to prices rising to $120 per barrel, and the US set an all-time high for gasoline and diesel prices, Yushkov recalled.
Trump last year imposed 50 percent tariffs on India, among the highest in the world, including 25 percent levies for its purchases of Russian energy.
India buys about 88 percent of its crude oil, which is converted into fuels like petrol and diesel, from overseas. Russian oil made up hardly 0.2 percent of all crude oil that India imported till 2021.
India, the world's third-largest oil importer, became the largest buyer of discounted Russian crude after Western countries shunned Moscow following its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
India's import of Russian crude oil dropped to around 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January, from an average of 1.21 million bpd in the previous month and over 2 million bpd imports in mid-2025, according to data from real-time analytics company Kpler.
(With inputs from PTI)