US trade war: What if Russian oil is excluded from markets? Envoy Alipov warns ‘world will not cope'

Russian Ambassador Denis Alipov stated that the global energy market would struggle without Russian oil and emphasised Russia's readiness to meet India's oil needs amidst sanctions. He criticised pressure tactics from other countries that hinder better deals for India.

Russian Ambassador to India Denis Alipov said the global energy market would struggle to cope with the exclusion of Russian oil. He asserted that Moscow was prepared to supply India with as much crude oil as it required, while noting that India had demonstrated its willingness to protect its national interests amid sanctions and tariffs linked to Russian oil trade.

He said pressure tactics over the issue had prevented countries imposing such measures from offering India a better deal than Russia on oil supplies. According to Alipov, Russia remains interested in selling crude to India, while India continues to have an interest in purchasing it.

When asked about Moscow’s confidence in continued India-Russia energy cooperation, Alipov told ANI, “The question is - how confident is India? India has shown that it's able to stand its ground and defend its national interests. And when we speak about the sanctions pertaining to oil trade, the tariffs are also related to the cooperation between Russia and India in oil supplies. These interests are paramount for India. We would be ready to supply as much oil as India needs.”

"Unfortunately, those who impose sanctions and tariffs have taken the path of pressure tactics instead of honest cooperation, which prevents those countries from offering a better deal to India in oil than us. The world will not cope if Russian oil is excluded. The energy markets cannot afford that. Russian oil will stay in the market for India and other countries. We are interested in supplying oil to India. India is interested in buying that oil..." he added.

Alipov's remarks come amid increasing pressure from Washington and its Western allies on countries that continue to import Russian energy, especially India and China.

Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026

The US Senate last month approved the bipartisan Lindsey O Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by an 86-11 vote, paving the way for possible additional economic measures against countries continuing to purchase Russian energy.

The legislation would allow US President Donald Trump to levy tariffs of up to 100% on imports from countries such as India and China if they maintain significant purchases of Russian oil and gas.

The proposed measure contends that revenues from such energy trade strengthen Russia’s economy and contribute to funding its military campaign in Ukraine. It would give the US President the discretion to impose tariffs of up to 100% on goods from the five biggest purchasers of Russian crude oil or natural gas.

The bill also calls for further sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior political and military figures, financial institutions, energy-related projects and other entities associated with Moscow’s war effort.

With India continuing to rank among the major buyers of Russian crude alongside China, the proposed secondary tariffs could have implications for New Delhi’s energy relationship with Moscow.

However, US Presidential Counsellor Peter Navarro said Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have a "very good working relationship" and would work towards resolving differences over tariffs connected to Russian oil.

"That's not how we resolve problems here in America. With respect to your question, the President and your Prime Minister have a very good working relationship. They are going to work that out amongst themselves, and it's not for me or any gaggle to get between that," Navarro mentioned.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X

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