NEW DELHI: Hours after US President Donald Trump stated that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him of reducing India’s imports of Russian crude oil, New Delhi emphasized that it is expanding and diversifying its energy procurement sources to respond to market realities.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India’s consistent priority has been to protect the interests of domestic consumers amid a volatile global energy landscape.
“Our import policies are entirely guided by this objective,” Jaiswal said, responding to media queries about President Trump’s comments.
“Maintaining stable energy prices and ensuring secure supplies have been the twin pillars of our energy policy,” he noted. “This involves broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as needed to align with prevailing market conditions.”
India’s continued purchase of petroleum products from Russia — despite Western sanctions — has been a key point of contention, straining relations between New Delhi and Washington.
In Washington, President Trump told reporters that Prime Minister Modi had “assured me there will be no oil purchases from Russia.”
He added that while India may not be able to halt the imports immediately, the process of reduction has already begun.
“It’s started,” Trump said. “He can’t do it right away — it’s a bit of a process — but it’s going to be completed soon.”
