Despite receiving intense pressure from US President Donald Trump to stop buying oil from Russia, the Indian government has insisted that it will continue its business and trade relations with Moscow.
According to a Reuters report, two senior Indian government officials said that no policy changes would be made in the near future, since the oil purchase contracts signed are long-term and cannot be easily canceled.
In fact, they stressed that oil purchases from Russia have helped curb rising global oil prices, which have remained stable despite Western sanctions on the Russian energy sector.
Russia is currently India's main supplier, contributing about 35% of the country's total oil needs.
However, despite the government's official stance, several state-owned refiners including Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum, Bharat Petroleum and Mangalore Refinery have reportedly stopped buying Russian oil since early July.
The decision was made following a reduction in discounts by Russia to the lowest level since 2022, due to reduced exports and continued high global demand.
President Trump has previously warned that any country that still buys oil from Russia risks tariffs of up to 100% unless President Vladimir Putin reaches a major peace deal with Ukraine.
India, the world's third-largest oil consumer, is now faced with a dilemma between international geopolitical demands and pressing domestic economic needs.
