Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov on Tuesday told The Indian Express that Moscow hopes that the recent trade deal between India and the United States will not harm ties between New Delhi and Russia.
“Trade volumes [between India and Russia] have been reasonably high, but potential is even higher,” Ryabkov said in an interview to the newspaper. “So I’m sure that for India, there should be place for everyone and capabilities to interact with everyone.”
His remarks come after the United States rolled back an additional 25% punitive tariff it had imposed on Indian goods in August for purchasing Russian oil. The levy had taken the combined US tariff rate on Indian imports to 50%.
On February 7, US President Donald Trump withdrew the additional 25% levy, bringing the effective US tariff rate on Indian imports down to 18%, after the two countries agreed on a framework for an interim trade deal.
An executive order issued by the White House had said that the punitive tariff was being removed as New Delhi had committed to stop “directly or indirectly” importing Russian oil.
The US had been alleging that India’s purchases of Russian oil helped fuel the war in Ukraine, while New Delhi had maintained that its oil purchases were aimed at ensuring its own energy security.
In his interview to The Indian Express on Tuesday, the Russian deputy foreign minister said that he hoped that “the result of this [US-India trade] deal would not mean that we [India-Russia ties] suffer or experience difficulties and troubles in our bilateral interactions”.
Ryabkov added that the current US policy was problematic because the North American country wanted everything for themselves and nothing for others.
“This is a unilateral approach at its worst,” he said.
Ryabkov told The Indian Express that the US linking trade with the conflict in Ukraine and telling others to stop trade with Russia was “completely unacceptable”.
While India continues to import crude from dozens of countries, nearly 25% of its oil imports are still sourced from Russia, according to The Hindu. However, imports from Russia fell to a 38-month low in December and major refiners including Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum and Reliance Industries have avoided placing advance orders for April
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