Moscow blasts US claim India will ditch Russian oil, says Trump trying to 'grab right to dictate to independent nations'
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Moscow blasts US claim India will ditch Russian oil, says Trump trying to 'grab right to dictate to independent nations'")
Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian PM Narendra Modi, US President Donald Trump Photograph: (WION Web Desk)
Russia has rejected US claims that India will halt Russian oil imports under a trade deal, saying it sees no shift in New Delhi’s position. Moscow dismissed remarks by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio as baseless.
Russia on Wednesday (Feb 18) vehemently rejected US suggestions that India was preparing to cut back on purchases of Russian oil. Pushing back against claims from Washington that New Delhi has agreed to halt imports of Russian crude, the Russian Foreign Ministry said it had "no reason to believe" that was true. This comes as the United States continues to claim that New Delhi has "committed" to stop importing Russian crude under the US-India trade deal. Here's all you need to know.
Nothing new in Trump's claims
Speaking at her weekly briefing, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Moscow sees "no reason to believe" that India has shifted its position on buying Russian hydrocarbons.
"India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons benefits both countries and helps maintain stability in the international energy market," she said, according to PTI.
Zakharova also took aim at remarks by US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have suggested that India had committed to stopping Russian oil imports as part of broader trade negotiations with Washington.
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"There is nothing new in the claims of US President Donald Trump, as well as US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who have grabbed the right to dictate to independent nations," she said.
What sparked the row?
The comments come after a recent phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Trump. Following the call, both sides announced a reduction in US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent. That move included scrapping a 25 per cent duty imposed by Trump last August over India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
Soon after, Rubio said India had "committed" to stop importing Russian crude. Trump, while announcing the trade deal, also claimed that Indian PM Modi had promised to end such imports.
India, however, has neither confirmed nor publicly denied the claim. Officials in New Delhi have repeatedly stated that "national interests" remain the guiding principle in energy procurement decisions.
