India has resumed purchases of Russian oil despite US pressure

After a brief pause caused by Washington's threats, Indian state-owned oil refineries have reissued shipments of Russian Urals crude for September and October. The buyers were Indian Oil Corp. and Bharat Petroleum Corp.

The suspension of purchases occurred in early August, shortly after the United States announced the introduction of additional 25% duties on Indian goods, which effectively doubled the tariff to 50%. Indian refineries were even instructed to prepare plans in case supplies from Russia stopped, but this was considered one of the possible scenarios, and there was no serious drop in import volumes.

New Delhi calls the US actions unfair, emphasizing that Western countries themselves continue to purchase certain types of products from Moscow. Nevertheless, criticism from Washington is intensifying: Peter Navarro, adviser to the US President, said on August 18 that India should not «turn sanctioned raw materials into exports» and called for a change in trade behavior.

Against the background of US pressure, telephone talks took place between Vladimir Putin and Narendra Modi, but the Kremlin did not specify in official reports whether the topic of duties was discussed. The Russian Embassy in India called the US measures unjustified, noting that in case of restrictions, part of Indian exports may be redirected to the Russian market.