Several Indian refineries are planning to gradually reduce oil imports from Russia, three sources close to the company told Reuters. The move comes as the US has put strong pressure on New Delhi to end its purchases of Russian oil, in order to contribute to ending the conflict in Ukraine.
US President Donald Trump said that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged on October 15 that India would stop importing oil from Russia, which is currently the largest crude oil supplier to the country.
The Indian side affirmed that the top goal is to ensure a stable supply of energy and reasonable prices. India's Foreign Ministry issued a statement emphasizing that its import policy is entirely based on consumer interests in the context of volatile energy. However, the statement did not mention Mr. Trump's statement about India stopping buying Russian oil.
Indian officials are in Washington for trade talks, while the US has doubled import tariffs on Indian goods to pressure the country to cut oil imports from Russia. The US side sees India's restrictions on Russian oil purchases as a key condition to reach a trade deal and reduce tariffs.
According to government data, in the first 6 months of the 2025 fiscal year (from April to September), India imported an average of 1.75 million barrels of Russian oil per day, accounting for about 36% of total oil imports, down from 40% in the same period last year. During the same period, the amount of oil imported from the US increased by 6.8%, reaching about 213,000 barrels/day, accounting for 4.3% of total imports, while the proportion of Middle Eastern oil increased to 45% compared to 42%.
Although refineries have not yet received official instructions from the government to stop buying Russian oil, many experts warn that the sudden stop could push global oil prices up sharply and increase inflation.
Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said the two countries are discussing more deeply on energy cooperation, in which the US expressed its desire to expand this field with India.
