Moscow:- Russia has clarified that India is completely free to choose any supplier for its oil needs and there is nothing new in this. Reacting to US President Donald Trump's claim that Prime Minister Modi has agreed to buy oil from the US instead of Russian oil, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia has not been the only source of oil for India.
He said that India has always bought oil from other countries, so diversifying suppliers is a normal process. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova also expressed confidence that the purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial for both India and Russia and helps maintain stability in the international market.
Energy experts believe that it is technically not possible for India to completely stop importing Russian oil. According to experts at the National Energy Security Fund, the oil coming from the US is of ‘light grade’, while Indian refineries are built to refine Russia’s ‘Urals’ (heavy oil). India’s costs may increase if US oil is blended with other grades. India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, has emerged as the largest buyer of Russian oil since February 2022. Although there has been some decline in Russian oil imports in January, Russia has said that it has not yet received any official information about India stopping oil purchases.