Will Venezuelan Oil Fulfil India’s Crude Needs? Trump Says India To End Russian Oil Imports Amid New Trade Deal, Here’s How Moscow Reacted

Government officials say farmers are still protected under the big new India–US trade agreement. Even with India eyeing more energy deals, including crude oil from Venezuela key sectors like agriculture and dairy aren’t getting thrown under the bus.

They keep repeating this point: India isn’t backing down on those protections, not even as it tries to grab more market access through the deal.

India to buy Venezuelan oil, claims new report

After a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, President Donald Trump said the two countries have agreed on a trade pact. The deal reduces US tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent, down from 25 per cent.

Modi believes the agreement creates a better economic climate and shows the government’s steady hand in global trade talks.

On the energy front, officials made it clear India will buy crude oil from wherever it wants, as long as those countries aren’t under international sanctions and the price is right. “We didn’t buy from Venezuela when sanctions were on. Now that they’re off, we will,” one source said.

Just a few days ago, President Trump told reporters that India plans to buy Venezuelan oil instead of Iranian crude. “We have already made a deal. India is coming in and will be buying Venezuelan oil rather than Iranian oil. So, we have already made the concept of the deal,” he said.

Officials in Delhi also see big economic gains coming. They’re talking about bilateral trade possibly hitting $500 billion in the next few years.

For now, they say this is all part of a bigger plan to grow economic ties with the US while still looking out for Indian interests. Expect more details as the deal moves forward.

What did PM Modi say about the US-India trade deal? 

PM Modi jumped onto X to cheer the “wonderful” news about tariff cuts, but he skipped any mention of dialling back Russian oil purchases. Instead, he praised President Trump’s leadership, calling it vital for global peace, stability, and prosperity.

India’s government has always stood by its Russian oil deals, saying they’re crucial for the country’s energy security. The fact is, India relies on imports for almost all its oil. For years, India’s main bond with Russia was about defense, not energy. Moscow supplied most of the military hardware, but only a sliver of the oil. 

Things changed after Russia invaded Ukraine. India saw an opening and started snapping up cheap Russian oil. This move boosted India’s energy reserves, while Russia isolated and desperate to shore up its economy needed the cash to keep its war machine running.

How did Russia react?

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia was carefully analysing Trump’s remarks on relations with India. Asked directly if India had decided to stop buying Russian oil, Peskov said: “So far, we have not heard any statements from Delhi on this issue.”

“We respect bilateral U.S.-Indian relations,” Peskov told reporters. “But we attach no less importance to the development of an advanced strategic partnership between Russia and India.

“This is the most important thing for us,” he said, “and we intend to further develop our bilateral relations with Delhi.”

Russian oil vs Venezuelan oil

Now, about Venezuelan oil. On paper, it looks similar to Russian crude: heavy, sour, and perfect for Indian refineries that are already equipped to handle it. But here’s the snag, India buys more oil from Russia than Venezuela even produces.

Venezuela’s oil industry is in rough shape. Years of neglect and underinvestment have left its infrastructure crumbling. Getting back to the glory days of over 3 million barrels a day would take at least a decade and tens of billions of dollars.

Venezuelan oil might help India cover some of the gap as it scales back Russian imports. But it’s not a quick fix. India, now the world’s third-biggest oil importer, leaned heavily on Russian crude last year. 

Lately, those imports have dropped, squeezed by global sanctions and shifting deals. With the new US trade deal on the table, India is signalling it’ll stop buying Russian oil, though nobody’s spelt out exactly when or how much.

This could mean India picks up more oil from the US and maybe a bit from Venezuela to fill the shortfall. But with Venezuela still tangled up in sanctions and its oil fields struggling, any big jump in supply will be slow and steady, not sudden.

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