By Yoshita Singh
New York/Washington, March 11
The United States has temporarily allowed India to accept shipments of Russian oil that were already at sea, as global energy markets face pressure due to the conflict involving Iran, a senior White House official has said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said the decision was taken to ensure steady global energy supplies while tensions in West Asia disrupt markets.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Leavitt said the administration of Donald Trump had issued a temporary 30-day waiver allowing Indian refiners to receive Russian oil shipments that were already on vessels.She said the decision was made because India had previously halted purchases of sanctioned Russian oil and had acted as a “good partner”.
“This Russian oil was already at sea,” Leavitt said, adding that the short-term measure would not provide significant financial benefit to Moscow.
The move comes as the United States seeks to stabilise oil supplies during the ongoing conflict involving Iran, which has raised fears of shortages and price spikes.
However, the decision triggered political criticism in India. Senior leader of the opposition Jairam Ramesh said the remarks amounted to a “capitulation certificate” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Ramesh said it was the second such endorsement from Washington after comments by the US Treasury Department.
Meanwhile, the US ambassador to New Delhi, Sergio Gor, defended the move and described India as a key partner in maintaining stable global oil prices.
In a post on X, he said India’s role as one of the world’s largest consumers and refiners of oil made cooperation between the two countries essential for market stability.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said last week that the waiver was a short-term measure aimed at keeping oil flowing in global markets during the current crisis.
He stressed that it only applied to oil shipments already stranded at sea and would not significantly benefit the Russian government.
The waiver follows earlier tensions between Washington and New Delhi after the US imposed 25% tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that such imports helped finance Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Last month, the two countries announced progress on a trade framework, after which the tariffs were removed following India’s commitment to reduce imports of Russian energy and increase purchases of American supplies.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the arrangement was intended to ease fears of oil shortages during the ongoing regional conflict.
He said Washington had asked India to take oil shipments that were waiting to unload at Chinese refineries and process them quickly to stabilise markets.
“This is a pragmatic effort with a short time span,” Wright said, stressing that US policy towards Russia remained unchanged.
PTI
