Russia has complained about U.S. pressure over the risk of losing the Indian oil market
Moscow has declared its readiness to supply India with the necessary volumes of oil, despite the possibility of tougher U.S. sanctions. Russian Ambassador Denis Almazov called the U.S. actions “pressure tactics” that could complicate the sale of Russian oil to India.
“We are ready to supply India with as much oil as it needs. Unfortunately, those who impose sanctions and tariffs have chosen the path of pressure instead of honest cooperation, which prevents these countries from offering India more favorable terms for oil supplies than we do,” said Russian Ambassador Alipov.
Bloomberg notes that under the U.S. sanctions bill, authored by the late Senator Lindsey Graham, if passed, U.S. President Donald Trump would have the authority to:
- impose a 100% tariff on the five largest buyers of Russian oil and natural gas (the largest buyers of Russian petroleum products are China, India, and Turkey);
- impose tariffs on countries that assist Russia in circumventing energy sanctions.
As is well known, the sanctions are aimed at further restricting Russian oil exports, which help finance the Kremlin’s war against Ukraine. The point is that Russian budget revenues depend largely on the sale of energy resources.
In turn, Russian Ambassador Alipov warned that without Russian oil on the market, there would allegedly be disruptions due to the war between the U.S. and Iran, as well as problems with transporting energy resources through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The world will not be able to cope if Russian oil is cut off from the supply chain. Energy markets cannot afford this. Russian oil will remain on the market for India and other countries. We are interested in supplying oil to India. India is interested in buying this oil,” he concluded, according to Bloomberg.
As a reminder, Trump’s son-in-law gave an evasive answer regarding a possible tightening of U.S. sanctions against Russia.
Earlier, following a meeting in Kyiv, Witkoff announced peace talks involving Ukraine, Europe, and the U.S.
In addition to issues related to ending hostilities and security guarantees, the parties discussed the country’s post-war recovery and mobilizing resources for reconstruction, as well as economic guarantees designed to prevent another war from breaking out.
