February 5, 2026
NEW DELHI – Two days after US President Donald Trump claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying Russian oil, Kremlin has said that New Delhi is free to buy energy products from other suppliers, reported Russian news agency TASS.
Official Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov said that India has always purchased energy products from other countries and that Russia is well aware of that.
“We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from other countries. Therefore, we see nothing new here,” Peskov said, according TASS.
Earlier this week, US President Trump had announced a trade deal between India and the US. He said that the US will reduce tariffs on Indian imports to 18 per cent and India has agreed to stop purchasing Russian oil.
However, there was no official words on his Russian oil claim from India, although New Delhi confirmed the trade deal.
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On Tuesday, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak had also downplayed the US President’s claim, saying, “We’re only seeing public statements. We’ll see how the situation develops.”
On the question of any potential loss of Indian custom, Novak further added, “Our energy resource is in demand; we see this often. Supply will always find demand, because the balance is maintained.”
The United States had last year imposed an additional 25 per cent penalty on India for purchasing Russian oil.
Washington also accused New Delhi of sponsoring Russia’s war in Ukraine buy funding its military through the purchase of energy products.