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India 'diversifying' oil options, says US ambassador Sergio Gor on Russian purchases; negotiations on for Venezuelan oil
The Trump administration official also said that the trade deal between India and the US is expected to be “inked soon”.
India has made a commitment regarding Russian oil purchases as part of a trade deal with the US, which has led to New Delhi diversifying its energy sourcing, US ambassador Sergio Gor said on Friday, while expressing confidence that the interim trade agreement will be signed by the two sides “very soon”.
Gor reiterated the message from Washington about New Delhi making a commitment on Russian energy purchases since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump reached an understanding on the trade deal during a February 2 phone call.
The Indian side has neither confirmed nor denied it will stop Russian oil imports and only said it will maintain multiple sources of energy, with national interest guiding all purchases.
Also Read | After Trump claims India will stop buying Russian oil, Kremlin responds
“On the oil, there’s an agreement. I also don’t want to be giving out too much, in the sense that what private conversations happened...between the two leaders. We have seen India diversify its oil. There is a commitment,” Gor told a media briefing soon after the Indian side joined the US-led Pax Silica initiative on the margins of the AI Impact Summit.
“This is not about India. The US doesn’t want anyone buying Russia. The President has been very clear on this – he wants to end this [Russia-Ukraine] war. So anyone who is, in a way, still involved with that conflict is something that the President wants to see come to an end in hopes of peace coming with that,” he said.
India-US to ink trade deal soon
Gor said Indian and US officials are continuing negotiations to finalise the interim trade agreement so that the deal could be sealed soon.
“The signing [of the trade deal] will happen very soon. Even this week, we have both teams talking to each other and actively getting to a place where both will be able to sign,” he said.
He said the proposed deal involves “tens of thousands of points” since the US is dealing with one of the world’s biggest economies. “We’re thrilled that the interim deal is done. You have a few tweaking points that are left to do, but it’s done. So the signing will happen sooner than later,” he said.
The understanding between Modi and Trump led to the US administration cutting overall tariffs from 50%, including a 25% punitive levy over Russian oil purchases, to 18%.
Gor noted that the actual removal of the tariffs involves “multiple mechanisms”, and not just one presidential executive order. “So that is making its way through the pipeline. The executive order specifically on oil was already signed…The second part of it, on the tariffs being rebalanced, there are multiple things. It’s not just one piece of paper. It’s multiple things, multiple departments, multiple areas. And so that will also happen very soon,” he said.
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India's purchase of Russian oil drops, negotiations on for Venezuelan oil
In recent weeks, India’s uptake of Russian oil has fallen while imports of US energy have increased. Russian crude shipments in January made up the smallest part of India’s oil imports since late 2022, Reuters reported this week, citing data from industry sources. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer and consumer, ramped up purchases of discounted Russian oil after the imposition of sanctions over the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with volumes topping two million barrels a day in some months.
India imported about 1.1 million barrels a day of Russian crude in January, the lowest since November 2022, with Russia’s share in overall oil imports falling to 21.2% from highs of 35% to 40% witnessed last year. China replaced India as Russia’s top buyer of seaborne crude last November, and Indian refiners have tapped supplies from the Middle East, South America, and Western nations.
Gor replied to a question on India possibly buying Venezuelan oil by saying he did not want to get into details. “Some of that aspect has not been announced yet, but there are active negotiations, the [US] department of energy is speaking to the ministry of energy here, and so we’re hoping to have some news on that very soon,” he said.
The ambassador responded to a question on a possible visit to India by Trump by saying that he didn’t “have any announcements”. He only noted that Modi had invited Trump to visit the country.
Gor noted that the Trump administration remains committed to the Quad, and said secretary of state Marco Rubio’s first meeting after being sworn in last year was with the Quad foreign ministers. “That sends a message to the world…So that’s something we’re fully engaged on. We’re actively in talks,” he said.
He announced that Rubio “will be travelling to India very soon, in a matter of months,” and that the trip will be “part of the Quad along with any other initiatives”.
