As Washington tightens the screws on Moscow’s energy revenues, India has sent a firm signal from the global stage: energy purchases will be guided by “costs, risks and availability”, not political pressure. The message came amid fresh US sanctions on Russian oil and claims by President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio that New Delhi has agreed to stop buying additional Russian crude.
Speaking at the Munich Security Conference on Saturday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar pushed back against suggestions that a recent India-US trade understanding would dilute India’s long-held policy of strategic autonomy.
His remarks came as Rubio said Washington had secured a commitment from India to refrain from purchasing additional Russian oil following the latest US sanctions on Moscow’s energy sector. “The United States has imposed additional sanctions on Russia's oil. In our conversations with India, we've gotten their commitment to stop buying additional Russian oil. Europe has taken its set of steps moving forward,” Russian news agency Tass quoted Rubio as saying at the conference.
More than a week earlier, Trump had gone further. While announcing a breakthrough after months of trade tensions, he declared, “India agreed to stop buying Russian oil and buy more from US,” framing it as a key outcome of the deal.
On stage alongside German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Jaishankar made it clear that India’s foreign policy compass would not shift easily.
“We are very much wedded to strategic autonomy because it is very much a part of our history and our evolution. And it is something which is very deep, it is something which cuts across the political spectrum as well,” he said.
On energy procurement, he described the global oil market as “complex”. “As far as energy issues are concerned, this is a complex market today. I think the oil companies in India, as in Europe, as probably in other parts of the world, look at availability, look at costs, look at risks and take decisions that they feel are in their best interest,” he said.
When asked directly whether India would stop buying Russian oil under the provisions of the trade deal, Jaishankar replied, “If the bottom line of your question is -- would I remain independent-minded and make my decisions and would I make choices which may not agree with your thinking -- yes, it can happen.”
India has neither confirmed nor denied Washington’s assertion that it has committed to halting additional purchases of Russian crude.
The energy question has unfolded alongside a recalibration in trade ties. Following a recent phone conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump, both sides announced a reduction in US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent.
The rollback included the removal of a 25 per cent tariff that Trump had imposed in August last year over India’s continued imports of Russian oil.
Throughout the period of strained trade relations, Trump repeatedly pressed India to scale back its Russian oil purchases amid the war in Ukraine. At one point, he sharply criticised New Delhi’s stance, saying India does not “care how many people in Ukraine are being killed by the Russian War Machine”.
A major sticking point in the prolonged negotiations was India’s procurement of discounted Russian crude, which New Delhi justified on grounds of energy security and economic stability.
Amid the contrasting narratives, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed reports of any such assurance. He said no one besides US officials had spoken about India possibly halting Russian oil imports and that the Indian government had made no such statements.
The differing accounts lay bare the delicate balancing act India faces as it navigates Western sanctions on Russia while preserving longstanding ties with Moscow.
Since the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict, India has significantly increased its imports of discounted Russian crude, which now account for nearly 35 per cent of its total oil requirements. The shift accelerated as Western sanctions reshaped global energy flows.
At the same time, India has diversified its basket. US crude accounts for nearly 10 per cent of total imports, and Indian public sector refiners have signed a one-year deal for American liquefied petroleum gas.
In another move seen as aligning with long-standing US expectations, Parliament recently passed the Sustainable Harnessing and Advancement of Nuclear Energy for Transforming India SHANTI Bill, 2025, opening the tightly regulated nuclear power sector to private participation.
At Munich, Jaishankar also broadened the conversation to global governance. He called for reforms in the United Nations, arguing that a series of shocks over the past five years, from the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine conflict to tensions in the Middle East and the rise of China, had exposed the limits of the existing international architecture.
The larger message from New Delhi was unmistakable. Partnerships may deepen, trade tensions may ease, and energy flows may shift, but India intends to keep the final call on its strategic choices.
