August 2, 2025: The Government of India has not issued any instructions to its refineries to halt the purchase of oil from Russia, Russian media agency TASS has reported. This news directly contradicts a recent statement by President Donald Trump, who claimed he had “heard” that India was planning to stop its energy ties with Moscow.
“The government did not ask refineries to stop buying Russian oil,” TASS reported, citing a governmental source. The source further added that “no instructions were also given regarding oil imports from other sources instead of Russia.”
Earlier, news agency had also reported, citing its own sources, that Indian oil refiners were continuing to source oil from Russia, with their decisions guided by “price, grade of crude, inventories, logistics, and other economic factors.”
During a press briefing on Friday, Trump had told reporters, “I understand that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That’s what I heard, I don’t know if that’s right or not. That is a good step.” While he welcomed the unconfirmed move, he admitted he was unsure of its veracity, a point that has now been directly refuted by reports from both Russian and Indian media outlets.