Washington DC [US], March 8 (ANI): US President Donald Trump on Saturday (US local time) spoke to the media about several developments amid the unfolding security situation in West Asia and the Gulf and responded to the announcement by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on temporarily allowing India to purchase Russian oil.
He spoke aboard US Air Force One.
When asked about Bessent’s announcement that certain Russian oil sales to India were being temporarily permitted and whether the US was considering any other moves, including releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Trump said, “If there were some, I would do it just to take a little of the pressure off.”
He added, “I think that the oil pressure– there’s a lot of oil. We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount and we have, there’s a lot of oil out there. That’ll get healed very quickly.”
Bessent said the United States has given India “permission” to accept Russian oil in light of the developing security situation in West Asia. In an interview with Fox Business, he said, “The Indians have been very good actors. We had asked them to stop buying sanctioned Russian oil this fall. They did. They were going to substitute it with US oil. But to ease the temporary gap of oil around the world, we have given them permission to accept Russian oil. We may un-sanction other Russian oil.”
With the crisis in the Gulf severely hampering shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, the United States on Thursday (local time) allowed a 30-day waiver for India to purchase Russian oil to meet its energy needs.
India sources nearly 40 percent of its oil imports from the Middle East, with a significant share transported via the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
Sources say India is reviewing its energy situation twice daily and is in a very comfortable position regarding energy security, with stocks being replenished every day.
According to sources, there is no shortage of LPG, LNG, or crude oil globally.
Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri on Friday said there is no shortage of energy in India and no cause for worry for consumers. He discussed aspects of India’s uninterrupted energy imports despite geopolitical challenges with the media and posted on X, “Our priority is to ensure availability of affordable and sustainable fuel for our citizens, and we are doing it comfortably. There is no shortage of energy in India and there is no cause of worry for our energy consumers.”
Sources said India currently has access to more energy supplies from diversified sources than the volume that could be affected via the Strait of Hormuz. The country’s existing stocks of crude oil and petroleum products are also adequate to meet domestic demand.
The government is closely monitoring the situation and plans to increase supplies from alternative geographies to offset any potential constraints linked to the Strait of Hormuz.
They noted India has significantly diversified its crude import basket in recent years. Since 2022, India has been importing crude from Russia; while Russia made up only 0.2 percent of India’s total crude imports in 2022, the share rose substantially thereafter.
“In February, India imported about 20 percent of its total crude oil imports from Russia, amounting to around 1.04 million barrels per day,” government sources said.
Also on Friday, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said Washington’s decision to issue a 30-day waiver for India to purchase certain Russian oil supplies is part of “short-term measures” intended to keep global oil prices under control amid supply pressures linked to tensions in the Middle East.
This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran.
In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries. (ANI)
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