India’s ambassador to Russia has said his country will buy oil from “wherever it gets the best deal,” a sign that New Delhi may continue to buy energy from Moscow despite Donald Trump’s threat of 50% tariffs. The US President had issued a deadline to the Indian government, saying he would impose the brutal taxes unless Prime Minister Narendra Modi ceases purchasing fossil fuels from Russia, money from which the Kremlin uses to fund the war in Ukraine.
But in an apparent slap in the face to Washington, the Indian ambassador to Moscow, Vinay Kumar, told Russia’s state broadcaster TASS: “Indian companies will continue buying from wherever they get the best deal. That’s what the current situation is. The diplomat also addressed reports the Russia economy is suffering, by adding: “India and Russia have a working system of trade settlement in national currencies. There is no problem now in payment for oil imports.”
The comments in the interview could enrage President Trump, who has previously been quick to post his feelings on social media about tariffs against other nations, such as China, Canada, and Mexico.
According to the BBC, Mr Kumar also slammed Trump’s tariffs as “unfair, unreasonable and unjustified”. The 50% margin would effectively be an addition to existing 25% tariffs, which Indian ministers already view as severe.
India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar also came out against Washington with a statement about his country, which has the largest population in the world, buying Russian oil.
He said: “It’s funny to have people who work for a pro-business American administration accusing other people of doing business.”
Mr Jaishankar noted the US was yet to impose sanctions on China for buying oil from Moscow.
Earlier this month, Donald Trump angrily wrote on his TruthSocial network: “India is not only buying massive amounts of Russian Oil, they are then, for much of the Oil purchased, selling it on the Open Market for big profits.
“They don’t care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine.”
Ukraine’s ambassador to India, Oleksandr Polishchuk, told local media President Zelensky may be visiting India later this year but that a date had not been confirmed yet.
Moscow also said Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit India too in the coming months.