Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 04:17pm on 14 Feb 2026,Saturday India Global
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed India assured Washington it would stop purchasing additional Russian oil amid fresh US sanctions on Moscow's energy sector. However, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar reaffirmed India's commitment to strategic autonomy at the Munich Security Conference, stating India would maintain independent decision-making on energy purchases. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed such assurances, noting only US officials made such claims. India currently imports 35% of crude oil from Russia, significantly increased since Ukraine war began. Trump previously claimed India agreed to halt Russian oil purchases as part of a broader trade deal, while increasing US crude imports to 10% of India's total requirements.
