Russia backs India over crude oil purchase, calls Trump tariffs unjustified and unilateral
Trump recently announced that Washington would impose additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports starting August 27, citing India’s rising imports of Russian crude
PTC Web Desk: Russia has strongly criticised Washington’s decision to impose additional tariffs on Indian exports over New Delhi’s procurement of Russian crude oil, calling the move “unjustified and unilateral.”
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi on Wednesday, Roman Babushkin, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Russian Embassy, accused the United States of “weaponising the economy.” He asserted, “Friends do not impose sanctions, and Russia will never impose sanctions on India.”
US President Donald Trump recently announced that Washington would impose an additional 25 per cent tariff on Indian exports starting August 27, citing India’s rising imports of Russian crude, which surged after Western nations restricted Moscow’s oil supplies in response to the Ukraine conflict. Notably, the US has refrained from introducing similar measures against China despite Beijing’s significant imports of Russian oil.
Babushkin underlined that Moscow has set up a “special mechanism” to guarantee uninterrupted energy supplies to India, which currently fulfills about 40 per cent of its crude oil needs from Russia, often at a discount averaging 5 per cent. He also highlighted that the two nations are progressing towards their $100 billion bilateral trade target by 2030, with Russia working to address trade imbalances by importing more Indian goods, including pharmaceuticals, machinery, tea, and rice.
On Western restrictions, the Russian diplomat dismissed the European Union’s latest sanctions package as ineffective and reiterated that India is unlikely to halt Russian oil purchases. He further revealed that Moscow and New Delhi are in advanced discussions on nuclear cooperation, including small and modular reactor projects.
“Russia has long been India’s trusted defence and energy partner,” Babushkin said, citing joint projects such as the BrahMos missile system and ongoing work on advanced technologies, including jet engines. He added that President Vladimir Putin has spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi twice regarding the Ukraine conflict, underlining, “India matters very much to us.”
On the regional front, Babushkin welcomed the recent visit of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to India, describing the Russia-India-China (RIC) dialogue mechanism as “an important platform” that should resume soon. He also confirmed that Modi and Putin are expected to meet during the upcoming Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, though dates for Putin’s visit to India are yet to be finalised.