NEW DELHI – India says it is looking to step up purchases of crude oil and natural gas from the U.S. as it diversifies its energy supplies and confronts criticism by U.S. President Donald Trump over its imports of discounted Russian oil.
Trump said Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had personally assured him his country would stop buying Russian oil, in a move that might add to pressure on Moscow to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine.
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“There will be no oil. He’s not buying oil,” Trump said. The change won’t take immediately, he said, but “within a short period of time.”
India is the second biggest buyer of Russian oil after China. Trump cited its purchases from Moscow when he announced 50% tariffs on imports from India in August.
A statement Thursday by India's foreign ministry did not address Trump’s remarks directly. It said the government’s consistent priority was to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers in a volatile energy environment.
“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,” said Randhir Jaiswal, a ministry spokesman.
He said the Trump administration had shown interest in deepening energy cooperation and talks on that were underway.
Expanding India's energy dealings with the U.S. could help India mitigate supply disruptions and align with Washington’s push to reduce global dependence on Russian oil.
India’s Trade Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said Wednesday that India was willing to increase its purchases of American oil and natural gas if prices were competitive.
Agarwal told reporters India has been buying around $12-$13 billion worth of crude oil and gas from the U.S. annually and there was room to nearly double that without causing disruptions for Indian refiners.
A team of Indian government officials was visiting the U.S. to discuss a bilateral trade agreement that includes energy cooperation, he said.
“In discussions we are in, we have indicated very positively that India as a country would like to diversify its portfolio as far as energy imports are concerned. That’s the best strategy for a big buyer like India,” said Agarwal.
In February, Modi and Trump set a target of finalizing the first tranche of a trade agreement by autumn. Talks were suspended after five formal rounds of negotiations after Trump expressed displeasure over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. He said that was helping to fuel Moscow’s war against Ukraine.
Trump has been frustrated by his inability to force an end to the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion almost four years ago. He’s expressed dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he increasingly describes as the primary obstacle to a resolution, and he’s scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.
In recent weeks, Modi has engaged positively on Trump’s social media posts, including the one about first stage of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, suggesting New Delhi is keen to expand cooperation with the U.S. In turn, Trump called Modi his “friend” and wished him well on his birthday last month.