India, Russia promises to deepen trade ties by denying Trump’s tariff threats over oil

India and Russia have agreed to expand bilateral trade ties on Thursday, signaling that the USDe -Delhi pressure on the purchase of Russian oil could hardly disrupt their partnerships.

Currently, India is facing additional tariffs of up to 50% of the goods sent to the US after Trump’s administration has exacerbated tariff threats in response to significant imports of Russian energy.

Relations in India and Russia were one of the “stable major relations in the world after World War II,” Indian Foreign Minister Subrahman Yashankar said at a joint press conference in Moscow.

Both countries have promised to increase bilateral trade, including increasing exports to India pharmaceuticals, agriculture and textiles to Russia to help reduce the current imbalance, Yashanka said.

Bilateral Trade between New Delhi and Moscow It reached a record of $ 68.7 billion a year, which ended in March 2025, and an increase in oil imports in India contributed to a $ 59 billion deficit.

Other plans include sending Indian workers with skills to IT, construction and engineering to help Russia solve its work, Jashankar added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that cooperation in the hydrocarbon sector and Russian oil sent to the Indian market “succeeds”. Both sides remain committed to the implementation of joint energy production projects in the Russian Far East and the Russian Arctic Shelf, among other sites, he said.

“This is a strategic partnership … contributes to regional security and stability, which is undoubtedly important, given the complex international circumstances we work,” Lavrov added.

Western governments imposed sanctions on Moscow, arguing the increase in India’s imports, helped the Moscow Bank’s war in Ukraine. New Delhi pushed back, saying the US administration demanded purchases to keep the markets calm, pointing to the continuation of the United States and further trade in the European Union with Russia.

Representatives of the Russian Embassy in New Delhi justify On Wednesday, they said that the departure of oil to India will continue, despite the US pressure, adding that Moscow hopes that a trilateral meeting with India and China will soon take place.

“Despite the political situation, we can predict that the same level of oil imports (by India),” said Roman Babushkin, accusation at the Russian embassy in India, on pressbriffing.

“Russia has been a close strategic partner of India since the 1970s, and the Trump administration’s tariff threats will not change this,” said Daniel Balas, a research associate of the S. Rajaramom School of International Studies.

“On the contrary, it can even act as a catalyst,” Balass added, which made the New Deli agree to a trilateral meeting that Moscow sought a broker with China.

India was the second largest buyer of Russian oil, entering 1.6 million barrels a day in the first half of this year, which compared to 50,000 BPD in 2020, although it still delayed 2 million imports in China, the US Energy Information Administration reports.

Washington has not placed secondary tariffs in China on its Russian oil purchases. Asked about the role of China in Russian oil, US Finance Minister Scott Haved suggested that Beijing import was considered less outrageous because he was already a major buyer before Russia broke into Ukraine.

On the contrary, Washington in recent days has grown criticism of India, accusing the nation of Profit from cheap Russian raw material And threatens higher tariffs for Indian goods.

Trump’s real order seems to be little related to Washington’s stated goal – Moscow’s oil revenue but but but Remove leverage from these trading partnersAccording to several geopolitical experts. This includes providing a trade transaction from New Delhi, while Putin’s pressing for the ceasefire pact in Ukraine.

Last week, Trump rolled out a red carpet to say hello to Putin at the first visit to the United States for about ten years, dividing with him in the presidential limo to the venue. The meeting was held in Alaska, which was once part of Russia.

It seems that the meeting has not taken significant steps towards the ceasefire in Ukraine, and the Russian government has once again confirmed its opposition to any short -term transaction with the ceasefire with Ukraine.

Speaking at a joint briefing on Thursday, Lavrov said he informed Indian officials about these conversations.

“The Indian approach continues to emphasize dialogue and diplomacy as important to address disagreements,” Yashanka said.