Indian sources report on Saturday that the country will continue to buy cheap oil from Russia. This despite Donald Trump having threatened to, in addition to 25-percent tariffs on Indian export goods to the USA, further punish the country for the oil purchases, reports The New York Times.
We'll see
On Friday, Trump said he had received information that India was no longer buying Russian oil.
I have understood that India will no longer buy oil from Russia. That's what I've heard. I don't know if it's true or not. It's a step in the right direction. We'll see what happens, Trump said to journalists.
But on Saturday, two high-ranking sources in India said the country had not changed its purchases. One of the sources said the government had "not given the oil companies any instructions" to reduce oil imports from Russia.
Unclear punishment
Donald Trump has not specified what the further punishment, in addition to the tariffs, will consist of. Analysts believe that Trump's focus on Indian oil purchases may be a negotiating tactic as India and the USA are trying to reach a tariff agreement. This is because Trump has not threatened either China or Turkey, which also buy Russian oil, with further charges.
India has drastically increased its purchases of Russian oil since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia now accounts for more than a third of India's oil imports, which can be compared to just under one percent before the war began.
