India responds to Trump's claim on Russian oil, cites energy security

India, on Thursday (February 5), in its first response to US President Trump’s claim that New Delhi will stop the purchase of Russian oil, stated that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians remains its “supreme priority,” adding that it was open to exploring the commercial merits of any crude oil supply, including from Venezuela.

‘Energy security is of supreme priority’

Speaking to reporters, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that diversifying energy sourcing in sync with market conditions and evolving international dynamics forms the core of the strategy on energy security.

Also Read: India, US to sign first tranche of trade deal in 5 days: Piyush Goyal

"The government has stated publicly on several occasions that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the supreme priority of our government,” said Jaiswal.

“Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s decisions were taken and will be taken with this in mind,” he add as quoted by ANI.

MEA on buying oil from Venezuela

As for buying oil from Venezuela, the MEA stated, "As far as Venezuela is concerned, it has been a long-standing partner for us in the area of energy, both on the trade side and also on the investment side. We were importing energy and crude oil from Venezuela until 2019-20, after which we had to stop.”

“Again, we began buying oil from Venezuela in 2023-24 but had to stop after sanctions were reimposed... Consistent with our approach to energy security, India remains open to exploring the commercial merits of any crude supply, including from Venezuela,” it added.

Russia refutes Trump

Russia on Wednesday said it had not yet received any communication from New Delhi on the development.

“We have not heard any official statements from New Delhi on this issue so far,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said while addressing reporters at a regular briefing.

Also Read: Congress attacks India-US trade deal, flags farm import concessions

At the same time, Peskov underlined that Moscow places significant weight on its ties with India. “We respect the bilateral relationship between the United States and India. However, we attach no less importance to the continued development of our advanced strategic partnership with India. This remains extremely important for us, and we intend to further strengthen our relations with New Delhi,” he said.

The backdrop

The India-US bilateral trade deal was announced earlier this week. The agreement, first flagged by US President Donald Trump and later confirmed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, provides for a reduction in tariffs on Indian goods exported to the United States from 50 per cent to 18 per cent.

Also Read: India’s trade deal with the US is not reciprocity, it is submission

Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the negotiations between the two sides were nearing completion.

A similar view was expressed by US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who noted that the agreement was “still being papered.” A joint statement outlining the final contours of the deal is expected to be released at a later stage.