



Putin’s India visit comes amid US tariffs and oil sanctions—what’s at stake for New Delhi
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Russian President Vladimir Putin begins a two-day visit to India on 4 December for the annual India-Russia Summit—his first trip to New Delhi since the start of the Ukraine war. The visit comes at a particularly sensitive moment for India’s foreign policy and energy security.
India has been under sustained pressure from the US to scale back its purchases of Russian crude. US President Donald Trump has imposed an additional 25% tariff as a penalty for buying oil from Moscow, taking India’s total tariff burden to 50%. At the same time, New Delhi still lacks clarity on the long-discussed India-US trade agreement that could soften the blow of these duties.
Energy has become the main driver of the India-Russia partnership since 2022, with Russia emerging as India’s largest crude supplier. India’s imports surged on the back of steep Russian discounts, lifting Moscow’s share in India’s crude basket from less than 2% before 2022 to over 35%. But fresh US sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil, Russia’s two largest oil companies, which took effect on 21 November have further complicated India’s position.
Even before the latest sanctions, India had begun reducing its dependence on Russian barrels as discounts narrowed sharply from their 2022 peaks. The new restrictions could accelerate that shift. “We expect India’s imports of Russian crude to temporarily—but meaningfully—decline after 21 November.
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