Breaking Update: Here’s a clear explanation of the latest developments related to Breaking News:After Trump claims India will stop buying Russian oil, Kremlin responds| India News– What Just Happened and why it matters right now.
The Kremlin on Tuesday reacted to US President Donald Trump’s claims that India would stop buying Russian oil after the trade deal with Washington was announced on Monday, saying that it had heard nothing of the sort from New Delhi as of yet.
Trump on Monday announced a new trade deal with India featuring lower reciprocal tariffs and expanded market access, while claiming that New Delhi would halt purchases of Russian oil and sharply increase imports of American goods.
India has confirmed the tariff-reduction portion of the agreement, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcoming the move following a phone call between the two leaders. But there has been no word on stopping oil purchases from Moscow.
“So far, we haven’t heard any statements from New Delhi on this matter,” AFP quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as telling reporters.
Peskov said Russia valued its relationship with India and would continue to develop its strategic partnership.
“We respect bilateral US-Indian relations. But we attach no less importance to the development of an advanced strategic partnership between Russia and India. This is the most important thing for us, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations with Delhi,” he said.
Russian deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak told reporters that Moscow had only seen public statements on the issue, and “we’ll see how the situation develops”. Overall, he said, there was good demand for Russian energy.
India became the top buyer of discounted Russian seaborne crude after Moscow’s war in Ukraine began in 2022. That generated a backlash among Western nations that have targeted Russia’s energy sector with sanctions aimed at curbing Moscow’s revenues to make it harder to fund the war.
25% tariff gone, but is India really stopping Russian oil purchase?
A White House official told HT on Monday that the additional 25% punitive tariff on India’s Russian oil imports would be dropped as part of India’s agreement to cease such purchases, bringing the final tariff to 18%.
While India has confirmed the 18% tariff, nothing has been said on the purchase of Russian oil, which had been a bone of contention between Washington and New Delhi.
Moody’s said immediately stopping Russian oil imports could be disruptive to India’s economic growth.
“A complete shift toward non-Russian oil could also tighten supply elsewhere, raise prices and pass through to higher inflation given that India is one of the world’s largest oil importers,” it said.
The opposition Congress has demanded complete details of the India-US trade deal, raising questions over several key aspects, such as claims that the agriculture sector will be opened up, a call for tariffs to be reduced to “zero”, and a pause on the purchase of Russian oil, as claimed by Donald Trump.