BBC:
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Moscow is ready to provide “uninterrupted shipments” of fuel to India, as Delhi faces pressure from the US to stop buying Russian oil.
Putin, speaking alongside Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi, questioned earlier why India should be punished for buying oil when the US itself buys nuclear fuel from Moscow.
President Donald Trump has imposed 50% tariffs on most Indian products, arguing that Delhi’s continued purchases of Russian oil helped fund the war in Ukraine – an accusation India denies.
Putin’s visit comes as the US holds a series of talks with Russia and Ukraine in an attempt to broker a peace deal to end the war.
On Thursday, Putin told India Today that Russia was working on a “peaceful solution” to ending the war – warning that Ukraine must withdraw from the Donbas or Russia would seize it.
“Either we liberate these territories by force, or Ukrainian troops will leave these territories,” he said.
Modi repeated India’s stance that it was not neutral on the war in Ukraine and stood on “the side of peace”, welcoming efforts to find a “lasting” solution to end the war.
He highlighted that increasing the “connectivity” of Russia and India was a “major priority” for India.
In recent months, India-US ties have hit an all-time low as the two countries have failed to resolve the tariff deadlock.
Trump initially imposed a 25% tariff on India, but announced an additional 25% later as a penalty for Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil – a move the Indian government called “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable” at the time.
In his interview with India Today, Putin commented on the US tariffs on India for buying Russian oil, and said that India should have the same opportunities available as the US.
“The United States itself still buys nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants. If the US has the right to buy our fuel, why shouldn’t India have the same privilege?,” he asked.
Russia remained the US’ top supplier of nuclear reactor fuel last year, Bloomberg reported in September – citing data from the Department of Energy. A ban on enriched uranium imports from the country was enshrined into law in May.
