On 18th May (Monday), the Modi government declared that it is going to keep procuring crude oil from Russia irrespective of any exemption from the United States. “Regarding American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasise that we have been purchasing from Russia before waiver also, during waiver, and now also,” Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Sujata Sharma expressed.
She underlined that economic sustainability, and commercial objectives are the main factors influencing India’s oil purchases. Sharma added that there is no dearth of oil and New Delhi already obtained sufficient supplies of crude. “It is basically the commercial sense which should be there for us to purchase. There is no shortage of crude. Enough crude has been tied up repeatedly, and whatever waiver or no waiver, it will not affect our supplies,” she mentioned.
#WATCH | Delhi: Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary (Marketing & Oil Refinery), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas, says, "Regarding American waiver on Russia, I would like to emphasise that we have been purchasing from Russia before waiver also, during waiver, and now also. It is… pic.twitter.com/aFlZwNPJZn
— ANI (@ANI) May 18, 2026
The Trump administration earlier issued a 30-day license related to purchase of Russian seaborne oil in March. The waiver was later extended before it lapsed on 16th May. Notably, India never stopped buying Russian oil in the first place. India’s purchase has decreased or increased depending on supply and economy since it started purchasing Russian crude in large quantities in 2022 (because it was available at discounted prices).
Regardless of US claims of making India “stop” buying Russian oil, India imported over 20% of its crude from Russia in February 2026. The Indian government has told time and again, even in their parliament, that Indian purchase of crude, any crude, is a sovereign decision driven by national interest. India imports over 80% of its crude oil, and India buys wherever it is available cheaply.
Furthermore, the Trump administration itself admitted that India buying Russian crude keeps global prices down. It was also corroborated by India’s Ministry of External Affairs last year when it said that the USA government had conveyed to them that India should keep buying Russian oil to keep the global oil market sustainable. The US government flipped on its own stand when it slapped 25% additional tariffs on India for buying Russian oil.
India has firmly indicated that energy security and commercial interests continue to be India’s top priorities in the face of current West Asia conflict.
