'India a good actor': US on 'allowing its ally' to buy Russian oil

The US, had earlier said that India had stopped buying Russian oil as a part of a trade deal that reduced tariffs on exports to Washington from 50 per cent to 18 per cent.

The Donald Trump administration of the United States yet again called India 'good actors" after "permitting" New Delhi to buy Russian oil amid the West Asian crisis.

The US, had earlier claimed that India had stopped buying Russian oil as a part of a trade deal that reduced tariffs on exports to Washington from 50 per cent to 18 per cent.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, "I have spoken to the President about it and the Secretary of Treasury and the whole National Security team came to this decision because our allies like India have been good actors and previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil."

"So as we work to appease this temporary gap of oil supply around the world, because of the Iranians, we have temporarily permitted them to accept Russian oil," she added.

She further added that the purchase of Russian oil temporarily would not benefit the Kremlin financially.

"This Russian oil was already at sea, it was already out in the waters — so this short-term measure, we don't believe it will provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government at this time," she added.

Last week, United States Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had said that Washington was issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.

In a post on X, United States Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said, "To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil... India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of U.S. oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate pressure caused by Iran’s attempt to take global energy hostage."

India's purchase of Russian oil is likely to fill in for the worldwide oil shortage resulting from Iran blocking the Strait of Hormuz, which handles 20 per cent of global crude flows.

The crude oil prices are rising globally amid the war in West Asia between Iran, Israel, and the US, which began after strikes in Tehran killed 86-year-old Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on February 28. The US-Israel strikes also killed several senior leaders of the Islamic Republic.

In retaliation, Iran targeted US assets in several West Asian countries.