India on Monday (4 August 2025) reversed the US and the European Union on Monday (4 August 2025) to target New Delhi for the purchase of crude oil from Russia. India focused on the ongoing trade relations with the US and the European Union, by rejecting criticism firmly. A few hours after US President Donald Trump threatened to levy more charges on India, the Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement dismissing New Delhi’s energy relations with Moscow.
The Ministry of External Affairs said that India has been targeted by the US and the European Union for importing oil from Russia after the Ukraine struggle began. It said that in fact, India started importing from Russia because traditional supply was diverted to Europe after the struggle started. The statement said, “At that time the US actively encouraged such imports by India to strengthen the stability of the global energy market.”
Energy costs for Indian consumers
The Ministry of External Affairs said that what India imports from Russia is to maintain the cost of energy for Indian consumers. The statement said that this (import) is a need, which has become a compulsion due to the status of the global market. However, it is being revealed that the countries criticizing India are involved in trade with Russia themselves. It said, ‘Unlike our case, such business is not even an important national obligation.’ The Ministry of External Affairs said that Europe-Russia trade includes not only energy, but also fertilizers, mining products, chemicals, iron and steel and machinery and transport equipment. It said, ‘As far as America is concerned, it is continuing import of paladium, fertilizer and chemicals for its nuclear industry, uranium hexaphloride from Russia, its EV industry.’
Inappropriate to target India
The Ministry of External Affairs said, ‘In this background, targeting India is unfair and indiscriminate. Like any major economy, India will take all necessary measures to protect its national interests and economic security. The Ministry of External Affairs said that in 2024, the European Union had a bilateral trade of 67.5 billion euros with Russia. It said that in addition, in 2023, the business associated with services was estimated to be around 17.2 billion euros. This is much higher than India’s total trade with Russia that year or after that year.
US President’s statement against India
The Ministry of External Affairs said, “In fact, in 2024, LNG’s European import records reached 16.5 million tonnes, which crossed the previous record of 15.21 million tonnes in 2022.” Earlier, US President Trump had said that his administration would significantly increase the fees on India. The US President wrote on social media, ‘India is not only purchasing a huge amount of oil from Russia, but is also earning huge profits by selling a large part of that oil at high prices in the open market.’ Along with this, Trump said, ‘He (India) does not care about how many people are killing Russia’s war machine in Ukraine. For this reason, I am going to increase the fees paid to America from India.
Also read: Trump again threatened India on buying oil from Russia, said- ‘Profit earning from oil deal, will increase the tariff huge’