2 minutes of readingNew DelhiUpdated: Mar 7, 2026 07:12 pm IST
A day after the United States said it was “allowing” India a one-month waiver to buy crude oil from Russia, New Delhi stressed on Saturday that the country buys oil “wherever the most competitive and affordable prices are available.”
“India’s energy supply remains secure and stable. Crude oil sources have diversified from 27 to 40 countries, ensuring multiple alternative supply routes.
In national interest, India buys oil wherever the most competitive and affordable prices are available,” he said in a statement at the official Press Information Office address.
🔸India’s energy supply remains secure and stable. Crude oil sources have diversified from 27 to 40 countries, ensuring multiple alternative supply routes.
🔸In national interest, India buys oil wherever the most competitive and affordable prices are available… https://t.co/CQnjAYym96
—PIB India (@PIB_India) March 7, 2026
What the United States had said about India’s oil purchases from Russia
Making the announcement a day earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the waiver had been granted to “allow oil to continue flowing to the global market,” and emphasized that “a deliberately short-term measure will not provide a significant financial benefit to the Russian government.”
To be sure, the exemption only concerns transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.
President Trump’s energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded.
To allow oil to continue flowing to the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to buy Russian oil….
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) March 6, 2026
Bessent had also said that “India is an essential partner of the United States” and hinted that New Delhi would buy more oil from Washington.
“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will increase purchases of American oil. This interim measure will ease the pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to hold global energy hostage,” Bessent wrote in the X publication.
