India stresses on energy security, says US interested in deepening ties

India has sought to expand its energy procurement from the U.S., which has accelerated in the past decade. The current U.S. administration has also expressed interest in deepening energy ties with India, according to a statement by Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday, in response to queries on India’s energy sourcing.

“Discussions are ongoing,” Jaiswal said. These remarks come hours after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India will cease buying Russian crude oil. He also added that India’s consistent priority has been to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a “volatile” energy scenario. “India is a significant importer of oil and gas. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective.”

According to Jaiswal, the twin goals of India’s energy policy are to ensure stable energy prices and secure supplies. “This includes broad basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions.”

Meanwhile, in Washington, Trump told reporters that while the procurement of Russian oil by India cannot be stopped immediately, the process has begun. “It (process) has started. He can’t do it immediately. It’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon,” Trump was quoted as saying.

According to Trump, the cessation of procuring Russian oil will put financial pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war with Ukraine. “All we want from President Putin is to stop this, stop killing Ukrainians and stop killing Russians because he’s killing a lot of Russians. It is a war he should have won in one week, and now it is going into its fourth year,” he added.

The issue of India buying Russian oil has been a point of contention between India and the U.S., with the latter accusing India of financing Putin’s war against Ukraine by buying crude oil from Russia. The contention has escalated to such an extent that the U.S. has levied an additional 25% tariff—on top of the reciprocal tariffs of 25% on India—as punitive tariffs on India because it has continued to import oil from Russia.