India Will Buy Russian Oil Despite Trump’s Threats, Officials Say
There is a growing sense in India that its leaders should not allow American policymaking to shape its choices on vital energy supplies.
Indian officials said on Saturday that they would keep purchasing cheap oil from Russia despite a threat of penalties from President Trump, the latest twist in an issue that New Delhi thought it had settled.
The defiance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government reflected increasing frustration with a relationship that was once much praised but has been souring rapidly. There is a growing sense in India that its leaders should not allow increasingly volatile American policymaking to shape its choices on vital energy supplies for its huge population, 1.4 billion people.
Mr. Trump said last week that as part of his latest round of tariffs, he would impose an unspecified penalty on India in addition to a tariff rate of 25 percent if the country did not cut off its imports of Russian crude oil. On Friday, he appeared to echo reports of a recent dip in the arrival of Russian oil to India.
“I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia,” he told reporters. “That’s what I heard. I don’t know if that’s right or not. That is a good step. We will see what happens.”
