Russia reacts to Venezuelan crude purchases under US trade pact

Russia reacted to reports of India purchasing Venezuelan oil under a US trade pact, saying New Delhi is free to buy crude from any country to ensure energy security.

Russia on Thursday responded publicly for the first time to reports that India plans to diversify its crude purchases away from Russia in the wake of a new trade agreement with the United States by saying there is nothing new about India wanting to buy oil from multiple countries.

“The purchase of oil from different countries by India has been happening for many years,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. “India is free to buy oil from any supplier.”

Peskov’s comments come after US President Donald Trump said Wednesday night that India agreed not to buy Russian crude oil during a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India would instead purchase Venezuelan crude oil as part of a “tremendous” new trade deal with the United States, Trump said.

‘We Don’t Have Any Notifications From India’

Peskov dismissed any claims that India will stop buying Russian oil imports. Russia has not received any formal notification from New Delhi that it will cut Russian oil purchases, Peskov said.

Add India.com as a Preferred Source

“India has been and remains free to buy oil from any supplier,” Peskov added. “We don’t have any notifications from India about stopping purchases of oil from Russia.”

Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Wednesday that the country’s crude sales to India serve “mutually beneficial goals and contribute to the stability of the global energy market.”

Peskov’s comments suggested that India could still buy oil from Russia despite Trump’s announcement earlier in the day.

Trump laid out the broad strokes of the US-India trade deal on Wednesday. Under the agreement, the US will slash tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%, while India agreed to cut its purchases of Russian oil.

Trump Tells Modi: Stop Buying Russian Oil, Buy Venezuelan

Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said Thursday that India is moving ahead with plans to diversify its oil imports to ensure the country’s energy security.

“In order to ensure energy security for India, we will continue to diversify,” Goyal said.

Peskov added that Trump’s comments about India buying Venezuelan oil should Russia drop out does not change Moscow’s relationship with New Delhi.

India Refiners Likely Evaluated Russian Crude Options This Week

Indian refiners had already reportedly evaluated their options for Russian crude purchases this week as news of the trade agreement emerged. A final decision on the matter will have to come from the government, but Russian crude accounted for roughly 25% of India’s total crude imports in May.

Trump’s comments connecting India’s buying of Venezuelan oil with Moscow cut off also followed calls by US lawmakers for oil sanctions on Venezuela.

Some analysts say it will be difficult for India to replace Russian oil with Venezuelan supplies. Venezuelan crude oil is relatively distant from India and would come with higher freight and blending costs, said Hardy Vieux, director of data intelligence at Guidehouse Insights.

India Still Importing Russian Crude Oil

India has not confirmed publicly that it signed a deal to stop buying Russian crude oil. Despite Trump’s claim that the nation agreed to end imports of Russian oil, India imported Russian crude throughout May. While Indian officials have emphasized the nation’s need to diversify crude suppliers, it’s still unclear if India is pivoting away from Russia or just temporarily suspending purchases.

Indian imports of Russian crude have soared since sanctions were imposed on Tehran last year after the collapse of a deal between Iran and world powers. Despite its moves away from Iranian crude, Moscow has remained India’s largest oil supplier over the past year. India imported 18.6 million barrels of Russian crude in May, surpassing Saudi Arabia as India’s top supplier that month, according to Vortexa.

Peskov said India has bought Russian oil for decades, and there is no reason why it would stop now.