Moscow: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Wednesday challenged assertions made by US President Donald Trump that India has agreed to stop importing oil from Russia, saying no Indian official other than Trump has publicly stated such a commitment.
Addressing lawmakers in the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament, he that no one else except Trump had declared that New Delhi would stop purchasing oil from Russia, reported the Hindustan Times.
The remarks came amid escalating tensions over global energy supplies and efforts by Washington to curb Moscow’s revenue from oil exports. “You mentioned that Donald Trump announced India’s agreement to no longer purchase Russian oil. I have not heard such a statement from anyone else, including Prime Minister Modi and other Indian leaders,” he said.
Trump, during the announcement of a US–India interim trade framework last week, said India would curtail or halt purchases of Russian crude — a claim that has not been echoed by New Delhi. The US had also recently lifted a 25% punitive tariff on Indian imports tied to its Russian oil purchases, part of broader trade negotiations, though it said it would continue monitoring energy trade flows.
“(The US) is attempting to control our trade, investment cooperation, and military-technical ties with major strategic partners, such as India and other BRICS members,” Lavrov had told TV BRICS on Monday.
“With the arrival of the (US President Donald) Trump administration, this struggle to suppress competitors became particularly pronounced and open,” he added.
Lavrov on nuclear arms pact with the US
Meanwhile, Lavrov, as quoted by The Hindu, claimed that Moscow would observe the limits of the last nuclear arms pact with the United States that expired last week as long as it sees that Washington is doing the same.
The New START treaty expired on February 5, 2026. This has lead to no restrictions on the two largest atomic arsenals for the first time in more than a half-century. It has also fuelled fears of an unconstrained nuclear arms race.
Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin had declared his readiness to stick to the treaty’s limits for another year if Washington followed suit. However, U President Donald Trump had reportedly argued that he wanted China to be a part of a new pact. But Beijing has rejected, as per the Hindu report.
“The moratorium declared by the president will remain as long as the U.S. doesn’t exceed these limits,” Lavrov told lawmakers on Wednesday. “We will act in a responsible and balanced way on the basis of analysis of the US military policies,” he added.
According to The Hindu report, Russian and US negotiators had discussed future nuclear arms control in Abu Dhabi where delegations from Moscow, Kyiv and Washington held two days of talks on a peace settlement in Ukraine last week.
New START was signed in 2010 by then-President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev. It was the last of a long series of agreements between Moscow and Washington to limit their nuclear arsenals, starting with SALT I in 1972. It was originally set to expire in 2021. However, it was extended for five years.
“Would take counter-measures if Greenland militarised’
In his Parliament speech, Lavrov on Wednesday said Russia would take military ‘countermeasures’ if the West boosts its own military footprint on Greenland.
“Of course, in the event of the militarisation of Greenland and the creation of military capabilities aimed at Russia, we will take adequate counter-measures, including military-technical ones,” news agency AFP reported quoting Lavrov.
