How U.S. oil sanctions are testing India-Russia ties

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the U.S. and its allies have rolled out sweeping sanctions — freezing Moscow’s central-bank assets, cutting major banks off SWIFT, and capping Russian oil prices through export bans and trade restrictions.

These moves have reshaped global energy flows, with India emerging as one of Russia’s top oil buyers — importing record volumes of discounted crude despite mounting Western pressure.

Under the Biden administration, Washington led these coordinated efforts to choke off funding for Russia’s war. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, has used the threat of sanctions to discourage trade with Moscow, a move that’s largely targeted India’s continued oil imports.

Now, fresh U.S. tariffs and the threat of secondary sanctions are complicating New Delhi’s effort to secure affordable fuel. For India, discounted Russian oil has become both an opportunity and a diplomatic test.

What do these sanctions mean for India’s decades-old partnership with Moscow?

Guest: Vasabjit Banerjee, Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Tennessee.

Host: Nivedita V

Edited and produced by Jude Weston

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