Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Russia is confident that its energy cooperation with India will “continue”, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said on Thursday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed New Delhi assured him of stopping purchase of oil from Russia.
“We continue to cooperate with our friendly partners. Our energy resource is in demand. It is economically viable and feasible,” Mr. Novak, who looks after Russia’s energy sector, was quoted as saying by the independent Interfax news agency.
“….I am confident that our partners will continue to work with us, interact, and develop energy cooperation,” he said.
Mr. Novak made the remarks in response to Mr. Trump’s claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that India would stop buying Russian crude.
The U.S. president claimed that while India may not be able to cut the procurement immediately, the process has started.
“We’re only seeing signals in the press today that our partners are declaring that no one can dictate to them, and that they will choose their own path,” Mr. Novak said.
In response to Trump’s oil trade claims, India on Thursday said it is “broad-basing and diversifying” its energy sourcing to meet market conditions, stressing that its import policies are guided entirely by national interest.
Russia is among the top suppliers of crude oil to India.
On Wednesday, Mr. Novak said that India is mainly paying for Russian oil in roubles, but has started payments in the Chinese currency yuan.
Traditionally reliant on Middle Eastern oil, India significantly increased its imports from Russia following the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces. Western sanctions and reduced European demand made Russian oil available at steep discounts.
In the first seven months of 2025, Russian crude oil exports amounted to 87.5 million tonnes, or 36.4% of India’s total imports, according to Interfax.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently said that he had ordered the government to take steps to mitigate the trade imbalance with India.
Published – October 17, 2025 02:03 am IST
