President Joe Biden asked Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday not to accelerate his country’s purchases of Russian oil, the White House said.
The United States has so far struggled to dissuade India from buying Russian oil but is trying to make the case that doing so is not in India’s interest and could hamper its response to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Biden told Modi during the call Monday that the U.S. could help India diversify its sources of energy, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said. Though India receives only a small portion of its oil imports from Russia — roughly “1-2%,” Psaki said — the U.S. “made clear, and the president made clear, that we would be happy to help them in diversifying this as well.”
“The president also made clear that he does not believe it’s in India’s interest to accelerate or increase imports of Russian energy and other commodities as well, which is something we certainly convey to other countries,” Psaki added.
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The call between Biden and Modi comes as India’s neutral stance in the war has touched off new tensions in the U.S. and earned approval from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who praised India earlier this month for judging “the situation in its entirety, not just in a one-sided way.”
India has also purchased 13 million barrels of Russian oil at a discounted price since the country invaded Ukraine in February. Indian media reports said Russia was offering a discount on oil purchases of 20% below global benchmark prices, according to the Associated Press.
The purchases have put India at odds with the U.S. and its Western allies, which have sought to enact punishing new sanctions on Moscow and reduce their dependency on Russian energy supplies amid the war in Ukraine.
In a statement released Monday afternoon, the White House said Biden and Modi “committed to strengthening the U.S.-India relationship through cooperation on clean energy, technology and military cooperation, and expanded economic and people-to-people ties.”
“The two Leaders also discussed the destabilizing impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine, with a particular focus on global food supply,” the White House added.
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But White House officials stressed that India “would make its own decisions” on how to respond to Putin, the AP reports.
