India did not instruct refineries to stop buying Russian oil - Media

India has not instructed the country's oil refineries to stop purchasing Russian oil, days after United States President Donald Trump criticized New Delhi for buying Russian energy. This is reported by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.

Details

No decision has yet been made to stop imports from Russia, sources said, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue. Both state and private refineries can buy oil from sources of their choice, and crude oil purchases remain a commercial decision they make themselves, several sources said.

On Wednesday, Trump reproached India for continuing to buy most of its military equipment and energy from Russia. The US leader imposed an unexpected 25% tariff on India and threatened an additional penalty for its close ties with Moscow. Two days later, Trump told reporters that he had "heard" that India would no longer buy oil from Russia, calling it a "good step."

India claims that its energy purchases are driven by market forces and price. Last week, refineries were ordered to develop plans to buy non-Russian crude oil. The government asked state-owned refining companies to prepare a plan on where alternative barrels could be sourced and in what volume if Russian flows were cut off, they said. One source said that this instruction was equivalent to scenario planning in case Russian oil became unavailable.

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The New York Times reported on Saturday that India would continue to buy Russian crude oil despite the threat of sanctions from Trump, citing two unnamed senior Indian officials.

Indian refineries have been singled out by the European Union and the US for supporting Moscow during its war in Ukraine over oil purchases. India has become the world's largest buyer of Russian seaborne crude oil exports, absorbing discounted barrels and increasing its purchases from almost zero to about one-third of its imports.

Reducing or stopping purchases of Russian oil would force India to resupply oil from Persian Gulf countries, which is more expensive, and New Delhi is not seeking to increase its import costs, one source said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi maintains close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, having visited the country in October. Putin plans to visit India later this year.

State-owned Indian Oil Corp. purchased at least 5 million barrels of US crude oil, in addition to 2 million barrels of supplies from Abu Dhabi, traders told Bloomberg last week. The purchases were large and with relatively immediate delivery by the company's usual standards.

Addition

Donald Trump stated that he is aware of India's possible intentions to stop purchasing Russian oil. Indian refining companies have already suspended purchases due to reduced discounts.