‘India will undoubtedly be buying Russian oil’: Nirmala Sitharaman’s strong response to ‘Kremlin’s laundromat’ jibes

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, made it clear that India ‘will undoubtedly be buying Russian oil,’ amid trade tensions and 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports into the US.

“Whether it is Russian oil or anything else, we will take a call based on what suits our needs in terms of rates, logistics or whatever. Where we buy our oil from, especially it being a big ticket foreign exchange related item, is a call we will take based on what suits us best. So, we will undoubtedly be buying Russian oil," Nirmala Sitharaman said on Friday, during an interview with News18.

The finance minister's comments come in the wake of Trump aide Peter Navarro's repeated criticism of India's energy ties with Russia. Alleging that Indian refiners purchase cheap Russian crude, process it, and then sell it abroad at a premium, Peter Navarro had said that "India is nothing but a laundromat for the Kremlin.”

Not just the Trump aide, but the POTUS himself also stepped up his criticism of India-Russia ties with his latest post on Truth Social.

He also shared a photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit in Tianjin.

Russian crude now accounts for nearly 40% of India’s total oil purchases – a jump from nearly nothing before the Russia-Ukraine war. As per anaysts, any immediate stoppage would not only signal capitulation under pressure but also be economically unfeasible, reported Reuters.