White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said India imports more oil from USA than from Russia

The US on Friday clarified that Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh had not issued a warning to India against raising purchases on Russian oil and noted that India imports more oil from Washington DC than Moscow.

“First, I wouldn’t characterize it as a warning, nor did we at the time,” the White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki said at the Press Briefing.

“He went and had a constructive conversation and made clear that while it’s the decision of each individual country, including India, to determine whether they’re going to import Russian oil, it is only 1 to 2 percent of their imports. About 10 percent of their imports is from the United States,” she informed.

“And so he conveyed, of course, they should abide by sanctions, which are not related to that decision, but also, we would be here to help them diversify and move towards even reducing further beyond the 1 to 2 percent,” Psaki said.

Psaki’s remarks on Deputy NSA Singh’s supposed statements came a day after the Ministry of External Affairs had asserted that there’s no pressure on New Delhi from any country on India’s continued trade ties with Russia.

“Don't think there's any such pressure. Talks of sanctions going on but it's not on entire trade. A lot of trade is going on, trade of oil too. Our focus is to maintain & stabilise our established economic relations with Russia," MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said on Thursday.

During his visit to India, Singh, in his interaction with reporters, had reportedly cautioned India against expecting Russia to come to the country's defence if China were to violate the Line of Actual Control as the two countries are now in a "no limits partnership".

"I come here in a spirit of friendship to explain the mechanisms of our sanctions, the importance of joining us to express shared resolve and advance shared interests. And yes, there are consequences to countries that actively attempt to circumvent or backfill these sanctions," Singh had reportedly said.