In exchange for New Delhi’s pledge to cease purchasing Russian oil, among other things, US President Donald Trump has declared that Washington will lower tariffs on Indian imports from 50% to 18%. Trump claimed on his Truth Social platform that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had consented to switch India’s imports of Russian crude oil to American and Venezuelan oil.
Even after Trump put harsh 25% tariffs on Indian goods, India continued to buy over 1.5 million barrels of Russian crude per day, accounting for more than one-third of all Indian imports, according to global trade data source Kpler. The second-biggest buyer of Russian crude is India.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, stated on Tuesday (February 3, 2026) that Russia has not heard any statements from India regarding halting Russian oil purchases. According to Russian media sources, Mr. Peskov also stated that Russia plans to keep improving its ties with India in every manner possible.
According to Peskov, “Moscow has not yet received any statements about India halting purchases of oil,” the Russian media reported. After speaking with Prime Minister Modi, Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social on Monday, February 2, 2026, announcing that the United States and India had reached a trade agreement wherein Washington would cut its reciprocal tariff on Delhi from 25% to 18%.
Last year, Mr. Trump levied some of the highest tariffs in the world 50% on India, including a 25% tax on its purchases of Russian energy. Approximately 88% of India’s crude oil, which is used to make fuels like gasoline and diesel, is imported.
Up until 2021, only 0.2% of India’s total imports of crude oil came from Russia. Following the boycott of Moscow by Western nations after its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India, the third-largest oil consumer in the world, emerged as the biggest purchaser of cheap Russian crude.
According to statistics from real time analytics firm Kpler, India’s imports of Russian crude oil fell to about 1.1 million barrels per day in the first three weeks of January from an average of 1.21 million barrels per day the month before and more than 2 million barrels per day in mid 2025.
According to Kpler, Iraq’s supply has increased from an average of 9,04,000 barrels per day in December 2025 to nearly equaling Russia’s. Saudi Arabian volumes have also increased, reaching 9,24,000 bpd in January after falling to 5,39,000 bpd in April 2025 and 7,10,000 bpd in December.
Peskov told reporters, We value the bilateral relationship between the United States and India. However, the creation of a sophisticated strategic alliance between Russia and India is equally important to us. This is the most important thing for us, he continued, and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations with Delhi.
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Following the start of Moscow’s war in Ukraine in 2022, India emerged as the leading purchaser of cheap Russian seaborne crude. Western countries, who have imposed sanctions on Russia’s energy sector in an effort to reduce Moscow’s earnings and make it more difficult for Moscow to finance the war, reacted negatively to that.
