India-US Trade Deal: Russia's statement came after Trump's claim on buying oil from Russia, read what it said about India?:Russia remained India's largest oil supplier in the first nine months of fiscal year 2025-26.

News Topical, Digital Desk : Following the US President's claim that India would stop purchasing crude oil from Russia under the agreement with the US, Russia has reacted to this. The Kremlin stated clearly on Tuesday that the India-Russia strategic partnership is of utmost importance to it. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that no official statement has been received from India regarding stopping the purchase of Russian oil. He reiterated that Russia's relationship with India is strategic and long-term. According to Reuters, the Kremlin said, "Our strategic partnership with India is of utmost importance."

What is the deal announcement?

It's worth noting that India is the world's third-largest oil importer and consumer. Trump claimed in a social media post that India had agreed to purchase $500 billion worth of goods from the US and, in return, would halt Russian crude oil imports. This agreement aims to increase India-US trade to $500 billion by 2030 and reduces tariffs on Indian products from 50% to 18%.

Oil imports from Russia remain significant. India's dependence on Russian oil has declined somewhat in recent months. According to reports, India's imports of Russian seaborne crude oil fell by nearly 22% to 1.38 million barrels per day in December, a two-year low. Strict US and European sanctions impacted supply. During this period, Russia's share of India's total oil imports fell to 27.4%, while OPEC countries' share increased to 53.2%. Despite this, Russia remained India's largest oil supplier in December and for the first nine months of the 2025-26 fiscal year, followed by Iraq and Saudi Arabia. Nayara Energy, which is partially owned by the Russian state-owned oil company Rosneft, remains entirely dependent on Russian crude oil.

Indian companies' stake in Russian projects Indian state-owned oil companies continue to hold significant stakes in upstream projects in Russia. ONGC Videsh holds a 20% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project. Oil India, Indian Oil Corporation, and Bharat Petro-Resources also hold stakes in Russian companies. According to the report, billions of dollars of Indian companies' dividends are still stuck in Russian banks. Despite this, both countries consider India-Russia energy cooperation strategically important.