&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "India ‘diversifying’ energy options, will buy Venezuela oil, says US ambassador Sergio Gor")
US ambassador Sergio Gor said on Friday that the United States is in “active negotiation” over the sale of Venezuelan oil to India to help Delhi diversify its sources of crude oil. Gor added that India has made a commitment with the US regarding Russian oil purchases as part of a trade deal, and expressed confidence that the interim trade agreement will be signed by the two sides “very soon”.
“On the oil, there’s an agreement. I also don’t want to be giving out too much, in the sense that what private conversations happened...between the two leaders. We have seen India diversify its oil. There is a commitment,” Gor told reporters after the Indian side joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative on the margins of the AI Impact Summit.
Gor reiterated the message from Washington about New Delhi making a commitment on Russian energy purchases since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump reached an understanding on the trade deal in a phone call on February 2.
The Indian side has neither confirmed nor denied that it will stop Russian oil imports and has maintained that it will maintain multiple sources of energy, with national interest guiding all purchases.
‘Not just about India. The US doesn’t want anyone buying Russia’
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“This is not about India. The US doesn’t want anyone buying Russia. The President has been very clear on this – he wants to end this [Russia-Ukraine] war. So anyone who is, in a way, still involved with that conflict is something that the president wants to see come to an end in hopes of peace coming with that,” he said.
Also Read: US will contribute $10 billion to Board of Peace, others have pledged $7 billion, announces Trump
Replying to a question on India possibly buying Venezuelan oil, Gor said he did not want to get into details. “Some of that aspect has not been announced yet, but there are active negotiations, the [US] Department of Energy is speaking to the Ministry of Energy here, and so we’re hoping to have some news on that very soon,” he said.
The US had pitched the sale of Venezuelan oil to India to help replace Russian oil imports.
India’s state-run Indian Oil Corp, Hindustan Petroleum, and Bharat Petroleum, as well as private-sector refiners Reliance Industries and HPCL-Mittal Energy, have ordered Venezuelan oil, said a Reuters report.
Also Read: IAEA chief calls for urgent US-Iran deal, warns nuclear material ‘still there, in large quantities’
‘India and the US to ink trade deal soon’
Gor said Indian and US officials are continuing negotiations to finalise the interim trade agreement and the deal could be sealed soon.
“The signing [of the trade deal] will happen very soon. Even this week, we have both teams talking to each other and actively getting to a place where both will be able to sign,” he said.
He said the proposed deal involves “tens of thousands of points” since the US is dealing with one of the world’s biggest economies.
“We're thrilled that India joined Pax Silica. If you saw the companies that are represented here today, this is an incredible partnership for both of our nations, and we look forward to taking it to the next level,” Gor said.
