Can the U.S. Stop India from Buying Russian Oil? – U.S. President Joe Biden told Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday that continuing to purchase Russian oil could hurt the West’s efforts to end the war in Ukraine and would not be in India’s best interests.
Biden made the comments in response to India purchasing more than 13 million barrels of crude oil from Russia since the invasion began on February 24, and as Western sanctions fail to cause economic turmoil substantial enough to make Russian President Vladimir Putin reconsider his goals in Ukraine.
During an hour-long video conference with the Indian leader, Biden reportedly told Modi that it would not be in India’s best interests to keep making the purchases.
“The president conveyed very clearly that it is not in their interest to increase that,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
While the president didn’t ask India to stop purchasing Russian oil, he did imply that the country’s standing on the world stage would not be benefitted by its continued dealings with Russia.
U.S. Offers to Help India Diversify Oil Sources
In an effort to hurt Russian exports of energy, the White House also reportedly promised to help India diversify its sources of energy.
“The president conveyed that we are here to help them diversify their means of importing oil. The imports from the United States are already significant, much bigger than the imports they get from Russia,” Jen Psaki also said on Monday.
It may be hard to convince India to stop its dealings with Russia, however, given the “significant uptick” in deliveries of discounted oil from Russia.
Top oil analyst from Kpler, Matt Smith, told CNBC that India was purposely buying oil at deep discounts since sanctions were implemented. And even if the United States can convince India to stop buying, President Joe Biden is unlikely to be able to stop China from doing the same.
“We believe that China, and to a lesser extent, India will step up to buy heavily discounted Russian crude,” Smith added.
Modi Stops Short of Blaming Russia for Ukraine Bloodshed
In a brief statement to reporters, Modi expressed his concern about the deaths of innocent civilians in Ukraine but stopped short of blaming Russia. Instead, Modi called for an independent probe into the conflict.
“Recently, the news of the killings of innocent civilians in the city of Bucha was very worrying,” Modi said. “We immediately condemned it and have asked for an independent probe.”
With no sign that India plans to stop dealing with Russia, or even take a firmer stance against the war in Ukraine, it’s unclear exactly how President Biden expects to stop Russia from making oil sales to non-NATO countries that already make up a majority of its export market.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
