India refuted the American pressure to put an end to the import of crude oil from Russia, whereby the oil -minister Hardep Puri claimed that the flows had helped to protect the world economy against a price peak, while it was also immediately exercised the blunt language used by the White House advisor Peter Navarro.
“Compliance from India to all international standards prevented a catastrophic $ 200 per barrel shock,” Puri said on Monday in a column in the Hindu newspaper. “Some critics claim that India has become a ‘laundry’ for Russian oil. Nothing can be further from the truth.”
Oil traders are aimed at buying New Delhi after Washington doubled the rates for many Indian imports to 50 percent to try to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of the Drive – which has not been matched by similar American action against China, another large importer – Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused the richest families in the country and Navarro said that the nation ‘the Russian war machine’ and ‘nothing but a laundromate’ for the Kremlin.
“India did not violate the rules,” Puri wrote, adding that its import met a group of seven price cap mechanism that was designed to limit Moscow’s income, but also remains roughly running. “India has stabilized markets and stops the worldwide prices from spiral.”
Puri’s commentary came when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin at a regional top in China on Monday. Conversations with Putin “are always insightful,” Modi said in a post on X on Monday while the couple changed views.
Russia, which previously had a negligible share in the oil import of India, has, according to KPLER, bought data 37% of the world’s third largest oil consumer. India benefited from a discount of $ 20 per barrel on supplied basis after Europe had stopped purchases after the war in Ukraine. However, the discounts are limited to a tenth of that when the sanctions were tightened.
It is unlikely that India will stop the Russian import, unless a worldwide ban is imposed because the issue is changing into a political decision about the freedom of the nation to choose instead of a purely economic, analysts at CLSA, including Vikash Kumar Jain, said in a note last week.
“The truth is that there is no replacement for the second largest producer in the world that supplies almost 10% of the global oil. Those who ignore the wise fingers,” said Puri.
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Published on September 1, 2025
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