US President Donald Trump during a meeting with Mark Rutte, secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), not pictured, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2025. Trump said he planned to speak to Xi Jinping about China’s purchases of Russian oil when the two leaders meet next week in South Korea, after the US president on Wednesday announced fresh sanctions on top energy companies with ties to the Kremlin. | Photo Credit: Aaron Schwartz

US President Donald Trump has asserted that India will bring down its oil purchase from Moscow to “almost nothing” by the year-end even as his government imposed sanctions on top Russian oil companies Rosneft and Lukoil.

The MEA has not yet reacted to the sanctions but sources said that the government is studying the orders closely and trying to assess its impact.

“India, as you know, told me that they would stop. It is a process; you can’t just stop it. But by the end of the year, they will be down to almost nothing. That’s a big thing, that is almost 40 per cent of the oil. India has been great. Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday and they have been absolutely great,” Trump said during an interaction with press persons in the White House, while hosting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

While Modi acknowledged and thanked Trump for his call and Deepavali wishes in a social media post on `X’ on Wednesday, there was no mention of any discussion on Russian oil.

Similar claim

Earlier this month, when Trump had made a similar claim on India’s purchase of Russian crude, the MEA had said that India’s energy sourcing decisions were guided entirely by domestic priorities, particularly safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers in a volatile global energy market.

Trump had also said that the 50 per cent tariffs imposed on most Indian exports, which included 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil, would remain if India did not lower its purchases from Moscow.

This time things are somewhat different as Trump’s assertions are backed by sanctions imposed on Russian oil companies which may affect India’s sourcing of oil from the country.

“Rosneft is one of the largest suppliers of oil not only to India, but to the world. India will need to assess carefully how the sanctions on Russian oil companies could affect its sourcing of oil from the country,” a source tracking the matter told businessline.

New Delhi had increased its sourcing of oil from Russia to nearly 40 per cent of its total imports since the country attacked Ukraine in February 2022 as Moscow offered steep discounts. As Russia considerably brought down its discounts in the recent months, New Delhi will need to take multiple factors into consideration during its assessment of the effect of the sanctions and while making plans for meeting future energy needs.

Published on October 23, 2025