India pauses Russian oil buys following Trump and Modi talks

Indian refiners are freezing Russian oil deals after President Donald Trump announced that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to stop taking Russian crude, according to Bloomberg.

Trump’s comments blindsided executives at state-owned and private refineries across India, leaving them waiting for official guidance from New Delhi.

Some allegedly said they had received no communication from ministries or the Prime Minister’s Office, but many began cutting imports to avoid potential fallout, with executives from three major refiners said Russian shipments to India will fall “in the short term,” per Bloomberg.

They explained that no one had anticipated Trump’s statement, and companies are now trying to understand whether Modi’s alleged promise reflects a shift in policy or a political soundbite.

Refiners assess risk amid U.S. pressure

The uncertainty is already forcing Indian Oil Corp., the country’s largest refiner, and Reliance Industries Ltd., the biggest private player, to review every ongoing crude contract. People familiar with the situation said both companies are looking closely at their exposure to Russian barrels and possible sanctions from Washington. The U.S. has repeatedly accused India of helping Moscow by keeping trade alive, a claim that’s now driving new tariffs against the South Asian nation.

Trump’s administration has intensified pressure on allies to cut ties with Russia’s energy sector. For India, that means balancing cheap oil imports with the risk of losing access to U.S. markets. Modi’s government has walked a fine line for months—sometimes reducing imports to calm Washington, or buying more to keep prices low at home. The Prime Minister hasn’t addressed Trump’s claim, and officials say no new directive has been issued yet.

A refinery executive said everyone is watching what happens next. “We might get an order tomorrow, or we might get silence,” he said. Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, discounted Russian crude has become one of India’s biggest energy lifelines. Now refiners worry that those discounts may disappear if Trump follows through with tougher trade penalties.

U.S. targets Japan as G7 eyes tighter curbs

Meanwhile, Washington is also tightening its grip on Japan. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said after a meeting with Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Wednesday that Trump’s administration expects Tokyo to stop importing Russian energy.

“Minister Kato and I also discussed the Administration’s expectation that Japan stop importing Russian energy,” Scott said on X. The meeting took place in Washington, alongside IMF, G7, and G20 finance gatherings.

At the meeting, Kato told reporters that Japan “will do what it can in coordination with G7 countries to achieve peace in Ukraine.”

Japan agreed to phase out Russian oil in line with the 2022 G7 sanctions, but to this day, it still imports Sakhalin Blend crude, tied to LNG output from the Sakhalin-2 project, in a blend that remains critical, covering about 9% of Japan’s LNG demand.

Earlier this month, the G7—the U.S., Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, and Italy—decided to coordinate new sanctions targeting countries buying Russian oil. Japan also cut its price cap for Russian oil to $47.60 per barrel from $60, matching the European Union’s July adjustment. Between January and July, Japan bought 95,299 kiloliters, or 599,413 barrels, of Russian crude—just 0.1% of its total imports.

Meanwhile, Washington keeps pushing allies to buy American LNG, pointing to the yet-to-be-built $44 billion Alaska LNG project. Japan has already signed new gas deals with U.S. suppliers but hasn’t committed to Alaska’s project yet.

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