NEW DELHI— India is not concerned about potential U.S. sanctions targeting Russian oil exports, thanks to its diversified energy import strategy, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said on Thursday.
Speaking at the Urja Varta 2025 conference, Puri noted that India now sources crude oil from 40 countries—up from 27 in 2007—giving the country flexibility in the face of geopolitical tensions and price fluctuations.
“There is a lot of oil available in the market,” Puri said. “Iran and Venezuela are currently under sanctions, but will they remain so forever? Countries like Brazil and Canada are increasing production. I am not unduly worried about supplies. We have diversified our sources.”
His comments come days after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened secondary sanctions against nations that continue purchasing Russian oil. On July 15, Trump vowed to hike tariffs on Russian exports to 100 percent and warned of further penalties on buyers—including India and China—unless a peace deal is reached with Ukraine within 50 days.
Addressing those remarks, Puri said, “I’ve heard these threats. Some statements are made to encourage disputing parties to settle issues.”
Puri also defended India’s increased imports of Russian crude since the onset of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, arguing they helped stabilize the global oil market. He claimed that without India’s purchases, crude prices could have soared to $130 per barrel.
Before the war, India sourced just 0.2 percent of its oil imports from Russia. That figure now stands at nearly 40 percent. Puri emphasized that while Russian crude has been subject to a price cap of $60 per barrel, it has never been under formal sanctions.
“Russia produces over nine million barrels a day—around 10 percent of the global supply,” he said. “If that disappeared from the market, prices would have surged, and consumers worldwide would have faced massive pressure.”
Puri reaffirmed India’s policy of not importing oil from countries under official sanctions. (Source: IANS)
