Will India Buy Venezuelan Oil? What MEA Said Amid Donald Trump's Claims

India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday clarified New Delhi's position on energy imports while responding to the claims by US President Donald Trump. Earlier this week, Donald Trump had claimed that India would shift its crude oil sourcing to Venezuela instead of Russia following a bilateral trade deal with the US. "Venezuela has been a longstanding partner for India," said MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a press conference, adding that India remains guided by its energy security needs. Responding to a question about Trump's claim that India will purchase oil from Venezuela instead of Russia, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "As far as Venezuela is concerned, it has been a long-standing partner for us in the area

of energy, both on the trade side and also on the investment side. We were importing energy and crude oil from Venezuela until 2019-20, after which we had to stop. Again, we began buying oil from Venezuela in 2023-24 but had to stop after sanctions were reimposed...""Consistent with our approach to energy security, India remains open to exploring the commercial merits of any crude supply, including from Venezuela," he added. Notably, India stopped buying oil from Caracas last year after Trump, in March, imposed a 25% tariff on countries buying Venezuelan oil."Diversifying our energy sourcing in keeping with objective market conditions and evolving international dynamics is at the core of our strategy to ensure this. All of India’s actions are taken and will be taken with this in mind," Jaiswal said in response to a separate question on Russian oil imports. Trump, while announcing the finalisation of the India-US trade deal, had claimed that India would source its oil from Venezuela. "It was an Honour to speak with Prime Minister Modi, of India...We spoke about many things, including Trade...He agreed to stop buying Russian Oil, and to buy much more from the United States and, potentially, Venezuela. This will help END THE WAR in Ukraine, which is taking place right now, with thousands of people dying each and every week!" Trump posted on social media. "Out of friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%," he added. Last week as well, Trump had claimed that India would buy Venezuelan oil, helping to replace some of the Russian oil that the world's third-biggest oil importer buys. "We've already made that deal, the concept of the deal," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.