India will continue purchasing oil from Russia despite recent threats of penalties from US President Donald Trump, The New York Times reported on Saturday, citing senior Indian officials.
While Reuters could not independently verify the report, it noted that the White House, India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas have not yet responded to requests for comment.
Last month, Trump warned via a Truth Social post that countries, including India, could face 100% tariffs for buying Russian oil or weapons. However, he later appeared to walk back the threat, saying he "did not care what India does with Russia."
Despite Trump’s comments on Friday claiming he had “heard that India would stop buying Russian oil,” two senior Indian officials told The New York Times there had been no policy shift. One of them clarified that the Indian government had issued "no directive to oil companies" to reduce Russian imports.
Previously, Reuters had reported that Indian state refiners had recently paused Russian oil purchases due to shrinking discounts in July. However, the NYT suggests this does not reflect a change in India’s broader policy.
Russia currently supplies around 35% of India’s crude oil imports, making it India’s top supplier.
On July 14, Trump reiterated his threat to impose steep tariffs on countries continuing to buy Russian oil unless Russia agrees to a significant peace deal with Ukraine.
