The United States administration has decided to temporarily allow India to resume oil imports from the Russian Federation, despite a previously imposed ban. This decision came about a month after Delhi agreed to comply with Washington’s demand to halt purchases of Russian oil in exchange for a trade agreement.
This is reported by Finway
Reasons for the Change in US Policy Towards India
As stated by White House spokesperson Caroline Levitt, the decision to permit India to purchase oil from Russia was made collectively by President Donald Trump, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and the US national security team.
“Our allies in India have been good players and previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil. We temporarily allowed them to take this oil to address a temporary supply gap due to the Iranians,” the spokesperson said.
Implications for the Oil Market and Washington’s Position
According to Levitt, the oil that India was permitted to import was already at sea at the time of the decision. She emphasized that this permission is temporary and will not lead to significant financial gain for the Russian Federation.
Thus, the US administration aims to balance strategic interests by maintaining partnership relations with India while controlling Russia’s influence in the energy market.