[Wen/Observer Network Wang Yi] US President Trump told reporters at the White House on the 15th that Indian Prime Minister Modi promised him on the phone that day that India would not buy Russian oil again."This is a very important step."

On the 16th, Russia responded that it was confident that its energy cooperation with India would continue. Russian Presidential Press Secretary and Kremlin Spokesperson Peskov said that Russia mainly refers to official statements from India on energy procurement issues and will judge the situation accordingly.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randir Jayiswal said on the same day that India's import policy is completely oriented by national interests. Agence France-Presse interpreted this as saying that India has neither confirmed nor denied India's change in its policy of purchasing Russian oil.

According to the Russian satellite news agency, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak, speaking about the matter, said: "We will continue to cooperate with friendly partners.Our energy resources have market demand, are economically beneficial and practical.I believe our partners will continue to cooperate with us, interact with us and develop energy cooperation."

Asked if Russia had received information from partners after the U.S. said India did not buy Russian oil, Novak replied that according to the statements of these countries, "no one can draw a finger, they will choose their own path."

Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov expressed similar views, saying that bilateral trade relations between Russia and India are generally on an upward trend. As for whether India will continue to purchase Russian crude oil, he pointed out that this is a question that the Indian government needs to answer. When handling this matter, the Indian government's primary consideration is national interests."Our cooperation in the energy field is highly consistent with these interests."

Russian Presidential Press Secretary and Kremlin Spokesperson Peskov responded through RIA Novosti on the 16th that Russia mainly refers to official statements from India on the issue of energy procurement."These statements are all public, and we are based on these statements to judge the situation."

Trump told reporters at a White House event on Friday that Modi promised him in a phone call earlier that day that ¡°India will not buy Russian oil anymore, which is a very important step,¡± but Trump added that India cannot ¡°immediately¡± stop importing Russian oil, ¡°which requires a process, but that process will soon end.¡±

According to New Delhi TV (NDTV), India's response to Trump's remarks was that its energy policy consistently prioritizes safeguarding the interests of Indian consumers.

Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Randir Jaiswal said in a statement, "India is an important importer of oil and natural gas. In the face of fluctuations in the energy market, we have always adhered to the orientation of protecting the interests of consumers. Ensuring energy price stability and supply security have always been our dual goals, which include extensive procurement of energy and moderate diversification according to market conditions".

However, the statement also mentions that India has been seeking to expand energy cooperation with the United States for years, and that progress has been steadily made in this area over the past decade.

Since September 2023, Indian oil imports from Russia have remained stable.

Bloomberg noted that as of the 16th, nearly 60 million barrels of Russian crude oil were being shipped to India, about half of which were shipped to the Thika port used by Reliance Industries, India. According to ship tracking data and port agency reports, oil tankers sanctioned by the European Union and the United Kingdom unloaded crude oil from the Russian Far East at the port on the 16th.

Indian traders said that refineries have not seen large-scale purchases of non-Russian crude oil recently. Russian crude oil accounts for nearly one-third of India's imports and is typically a few dollars cheaper than crude oil from the Middle East, Africa and the Americas, making it an attractive option.

According to estimates by energy analysis firm Kpler, the average daily flow of Russian crude oil to India in October was about 1.7 million barrels, about 6% higher than in September, but slightly lower than the level of the same period last year.

Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, Western countries, especially the United States, have repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with India's continued purchase of Russian oil.The Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has repeatedly expressed its position on the issue, stressing that India is only fighting for the best deal for its people, while also pointing out the Western dual standards on energy issues, saying the West needs to get rid of the "European problem is the world's problem, but the world's problem is not necessarily the European problem" thinking.

Public data shows that Russia has become India's main oil supplier, accounting for about 35% of India's total supply; Before the Russia-Ukraine conflict broke out, this proportion was less than 1%. This caused India to be quickly targeted by Trump, who failed to mediate the conflict, and immediately put pressure on India to stop buying Russian oil.

In August, Trump announced an additional 25% so-called "punitive" tariffs on Indian goods, bringing the total tariff level to 50%.

Currently, the US-India trade negotiations are still going on. Last month, a delegation led by Brendan Lynch, the U.S. Assistant Trade Representative for South and Central Asia, met in New Delhi with an Indian delegation led by India's chief negotiator Rajesh Agrawal.

According to Bloomberg, India is reducing its trade surplus with the United States by buying more U.S. goods, improving Indian market access and reducing trade barriers, for example, India is considering purchasing $40 billion worth of U.S. defense equipment and commodities such as oil.

Agrawal said at the time that India has the ability to increase its oil purchases from the United States by US $15 billion. "According to the data of fiscal year 2025, the current average scale of our oil purchases from the United States is US $12 billion to US $13 billion. Based on the current refinery configuration, there is still $14 billion to $15 billion in purchasing space." But he did not mention whether India will stop buying Russian oil.

The Indian government's "soft" towards the United States in trade negotiations and the purchase of Russian oil has been criticized by the opposition at home. Rahul Gandhi, leader of India's main opposition Congress Party, wrote in a social media post,"Modi is afraid of Trump. First, Trump is allowed to decide and announce that India will not buy Russian oil; second, he continues to send congratulatory messages after being ignored repeatedly; third, he cancels the Treasury Secretary's visit to the United States; fourth, he is absent from the Sharm el-Sheikh Summit; Fifth, he is not opposed to him on Operation Sindour."

On October 16, at the regular press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an AFP reporter asked questions. US President Trump said yesterday that he had received assurances from Indian Prime Minister Modi that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia. Trump said it is time for China to do the same. Is China's purchase of Russian oil part of the ongoing Sino-US trade negotiations? What is China's position on this?

China's Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Cheng said on Friday that China has repeatedly expressed its position on the issue that China is legitimate in conducting normal economic and trade energy cooperation with other countries in the world, including Russia.The U.S. approach is typical of unilateral bullying and economic coercion, seriously undermining international economic and trade rules and threatening the security and stability of the global industrial supply chain.

Lin Jian emphasized that China has always adhered to an objective and fair position on the Ukraine crisis, which is open and aboveboard and obvious to all. "We firmly oppose the United States 'frequent use of China and resolutely oppose the indiscriminate imposition of illegal unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction against China. If China's legitimate rights and interests are damaged, China will resolutely oppose and firmly safeguard its own sovereign development and security interests."

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