India Aims to Increase US Oil and Gas Imports Amid Pressure from Trump to Halt Russian Acquisitions

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NEW DELHI (AP) India is aiming to increase its procurement of crude oil and natural gas from the United States as part of its strategy to diversify energy sources. This move comes amid criticism from former President Donald Trump regarding India’s purchase of discounted Russian oil.

On Wednesday, Trump stated that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would cease buying oil from Russia. This decision is seen as a potential contributing factor in pressuring Moscow to negotiate an end to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

“There will be no oil. He’s not buying oil,” Trump declared. He indicated that while the transition won’t happen overnight, it is expected to occur “within a short period of time.”

India currently ranks as the second-largest purchaser of Russian oil, following China. Trump highlighted India’s purchases from Russia when imposing a 50% tariff on Indian imports back in August.

As a fragile ceasefire takes hold in Gaza, Trump mentioned his intentions to address the situation with Russia, stating he is looking to “get Russia done.”

“Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy. This includes broad basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions,” said Randhir Jaiswal, a ministry spokesman.

He said the Trump administration had shown interest in deepening energy cooperation and talks on that were underway.

Expanding India’s energy dealings with the U.S. could help India mitigate supply disruptions and align with Washington’s push to reduce global dependence on Russian oil.

India’s Trade Secretary Rajesh Agarwal said Wednesday that India was willing to increase its purchases of American oil and natural gas if prices were competitive.

Agarwal told reporters India has been buying around $12-$13 billion worth of crude oil and gas from the U.S. annually and there was room to nearly double that without causing disruptions for Indian refiners.

A team of Indian government officials was visiting the U.S. to discuss a bilateral trade agreement that includes energy cooperation, he said.

“In discussions we are in, we have indicated very positively that India as a country would like to diversify its portfolio as far as energy imports are concerned. That’s the best strategy for a big buyer like India,” said Agarwal.

In February, Modi and Trump set a target of finalizing the first tranche of a trade agreement by autumn. Talks were suspended after five formal rounds of negotiations after Trump expressed displeasure over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil. He said that was helping to fuel Moscow’s war against Ukraine.

Trump has been frustrated by his inability to force an end to the war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion almost four years ago. He’s expressed dissatisfaction with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom he increasingly describes as the primary obstacle to a resolution, and he’s scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday.

In recent weeks, Modi has engaged positively on Trump’s social media posts, including the one about first stage of a peace deal between Israel and Hamas, suggesting New Delhi is keen to expand cooperation with the U.S. In turn, Trump called Modi his “friend” and wished him well on his birthday last month.