Russia on Wednesday rejected US tariffs on India over its purchase of Russian crude, calling them “unilateral and unjustified” and affirming that Moscow and New Delhi will continue energy cooperation despite outside pressure.
Speaking to reporters in New Delhi, Roman Babushkin, Russia’s deputy chief of mission, accused Washington of “weaponising the economy” and added, “Friends do not impose sanctions, and Russia will never impose sanctions on India.”
US President Donald Trump has announced an additional 25% tariff on Indian exports effective August 27, citing India’s rising imports of discounted Russian oil after Western sanctions on Moscow following the Ukraine invasion. Notably, the US has not imposed similar measures on China for buying Russian crude.
Babushkin underlined that Russia has developed a “special mechanism” to ensure uninterrupted supplies to India, which now sources around 40% of its oil from Moscow at an average 5% discount. He said India and Russia are on track to meet their $100 billion trade target by 2030, with Moscow looking to reduce the trade imbalance by increasing imports of Indian machinery, pharmaceuticals, tea, and rice.
The envoy said Russia remains one of India’s largest suppliers of energy and fertilisers and noted that Western sanctions, including the EU’s latest package, would have limited impact. He also revealed that the two countries are in advanced discussions on small and modular nuclear reactors and highlighted ongoing defence cooperation, including BrahMos missiles and future projects such as jet engines.
Babushkin said President Vladimir Putin has spoken twice with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Ukraine conflict, stressing, “India matters very much to us.” On regional affairs, he welcomed Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi’s “very successful” visit to India and expressed hope that the Russia-India-China dialogue mechanism would soon be revived.
He confirmed that Modi and Putin will hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin, though dates for Putin’s India visit have yet to be finalised.
