On the purchase of crude oil from Russia, the US has again cried against India. The US has said that India is earning profits by purchasing crude oil from Russia. US Finance Minister Scott Besant has said that New Delhi is buying crude oil from Russia in violation of Western sanctions and is refining and selling it again.
At the same time, on the import of crude oil from Russia in China, the US said that it has diverted its crude oil imports, that is, it is asking for crude oil from different countries.
However, America did not tell the complete picture of the oil story. The US did not say that the import of China’s crude oil from Russia has doubled after the Ukraine War. The US did not say that China is asking for oil from Iran despite sanctions.
US Finance Minister Scott Besant described India’s crude oil import from Russia as unacceptable. While US Finance Minister was seen defending the purchase of Russian oil by China. The US Finance Minister said that China has expanded the sources of its crude oil purchases.
The comment came amidst stress in Indo-US relations after US President Donald Trump imposed a total of 50 percent tariff on India. It also includes 25 percent tariff on the purchase of Russian oil by New Delhi, which will be applicable from August 27.
Answering a question related to adopting a separate attitude with China and India to buy Russian oil on business channel CNBC, Scott Besant said, “China’s oil imports from Russia have increased only 3 percent after the Russia-Ukraine war, while India’s oil imports from Russia have increased by more than 40 percent.”
Besant said, “China’s (Russian oil) import is below average. If you look before 2022, 13 percent of China’s oil was already coming from Russia; now it is 16 percent, so China has diversified its oil input.”
Besant further said that before the Russian attack on Ukraine, the “less than one percent” share of Indian oil came from Russia and now I believe it has reached 42 percent.
Besant further said, “India is just earning profits, they are selling it again. They made an additional profit of $ 16 billion … Some of India’s richest families. It’s a completely different thing.”
He further stated that “it has started during the war,” it is absolutely unacceptable. “
How America is making misleading statements on China’s Russian oil imports
The statement made by China on Russian oil imports by China is misleading.
According to the Voice of America report, China used to import about 5.4 million tonnes of crude oil from Russia in February 2022 (before the Ukraine War). After the war, this figure increased rapidly and in May 2023, China imported crude oil from Russia up to 9.71 million tonnes in a month, ie imports almost doubled.
According to 2025 data, China is the largest crude oil buyer of Russia despite the pressure of American and other Western sanctions. Although in the beginning of 2025, China’s crude oil imports from Russia have been dropped by 11%, Russia’s share in total crude oil imports remains about 17.5% and the amount of imports more than 2022. According to the latest data, in June 2025, China’s procurement of crude oil from Russia was 3.5 billion euros. China’s oil imports from Russia are many times higher than the level before the war.
According to Reuters and Offshore Technology, China imported 108.5 million tonnes of crude oil from Russia in 2024, which is equivalent to 2.17 million barrels per day. This is about 20 percent of China’s total crude oil import (11.04 million barrels per day). While the US Finance Minister is describing it as 16 percent.
America forgot to mention crude oil imports from Iran
The US Finance Minister described the figure of crude oil by China from Russia, but he forgot to mention the crude oil imported by China from Iran. While the US has also banned Iran. Despite this, China ordered crude oil from Iran.
China is continuously importing large quantities of crude oil from Iran despite American sanctions. In June 2025, China bought an average of 1.8 million barrels per day (BPD) crude oil from Iran. This was the biggest import ever.
In May 2025, this import was about 1 million barrels per day, but in June, the demand for Iranian crude oil increased rapidly due to the demand of China’s independent refineries and the discount of Iranian oil prices.
China imports the Iranian oil through “dark fleet” tankers, which is done by shutting off transponders and showing the oil coming from Malaysia or other countries of the Middle East. Its purpose is to avoid restrictions. For example, in 2023, China’s oil imports from Malaysia recorded an increase of 54% which was actually Iranian oil.
Recently, news agency Reuters had said that China takes 13.6 percent of its total oil imports from Iran. According to the BBC, Chinese custom data has not recorded any oil imports from Iran since July 2022. Let us know that America has banned Iran oil. But China describes these sanctions as ‘illegal and unilateral’.
Scott Besant also commented last week
Besant made a similar comment before the trump-punt meeting last week. In an interview to Bloomberg, he said that if “things are not good” between Trump and Putin at the summit, then additional restrictions can be imposed on India to buy Russian oil.
India has described these tariff threats of America as “unfair”.
India said that like any major economy, it will take all the necessary steps to protect its national interests and economic security.
—- End —-