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Russia on Wednesday said there is no indication that India has reconsidered its approach to energy cooperation with Moscow, rejecting claims by US President Donald Trump that New Delhi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said hydrocarbons trade between India and Russia remains mutually beneficial and contributes to stability in the global energy market. “No reason to believe India has reconsidered its approach to energy cooperation with Russia,” Zakharova said, as reported by foreign media.

“The trade in resources is beneficial for both sides and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market,” she added.

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Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said India has always sourced oil from multiple suppliers and that diversification of crude imports is not a new development. “We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from other countries. Therefore, we see nothing new here,” Peskov said.

A day earlier, Peskov had said that Russia has not received any statements from India regarding the cessation of Russian oil purchases.

Meanwhile, Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal reiterated in Parliament that India’s energy decisions are driven by national interest and market realities. “Wish to clarify once again, as the government has stated publicly on several occasions, that ensuring the energy security of 1.4 billion Indians is the supreme priority of the government,” Goyal said.

“Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India's actions are taken with this in mind. I would therefore urge the honourable members to consider these issues in their proper perspective.”

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The statements come as External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is in the US for the Critical Minerals Ministerial hosted by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Jaishankar said the two sides reviewed bilateral cooperation and discussed major global developments. “We did a fairly detailed review of our bilateral cooperation. It's natural when foreign ministers meet that you discuss the diplomatic agenda,” he said.

“We discussed the Indo-Pacific, what is happening in West Asia, the Middle East, Gaza, and the Ukraine conflict… we discussed the world, we discussed our relationship, and it was a very open sort of forthcoming conversation.” At the meeting, Jaishankar underlined India’s support for the FORGE (Forum on Resource, Geostrategic Engagement) initiative.

Energy experts in Russia said India cannot easily replace Russian crude with US oil due to differences in quality and supply volumes. “The American shale oil they export is light grades, similar to gas condensate. Russia, on the other hand, supplies relatively heavy, sulfur-rich Urals,” said Igor Yushkov of the National Energy Security Fund, as reported by foreign media.

“America won't be able to cover that volume. So, one gets the sense that Trump is simply trying to show that he won these trade negotiations and the deal was concluded entirely in line with US demands,” he added.