New Delhi: The Kremlin on Wednesday (February 4) indicated it was aware that India is diversifying its oil purchases, even as New Delhi continued to avoid any direct remarks confirming US President Donald Trump’s assertion that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had agreed to halt Russian crude purchases.Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that buying oil from a range of suppliers was not unexpected. “We, along with all other international energy experts, are well aware that Russia is not the only supplier of oil and petroleum products to India. India has always purchased these products from other countries. Therefore, we see nothing new here,” Peskov said.He was responding to a question about Trump’s claim that Modi had agreed to stop buying Russian oil and switch to purchasing crude from the United States and potentially Venezuela.Russia’s foreign ministry said the hydrocarbon trade benefits both nations. Spokesperson Maria Zakharova told a press briefing “that India’s purchase of Russian hydrocarbons is beneficial to both countries and contributes to maintaining stability in the international energy market. We are ready to continue close cooperation in this area with our partners in India.”In his first parliamentary remarks on the trade agreement, commerce minister Piyush Goyal made no direct reference to shifting purchases away from Russia. “To secure the energy needs of 1.4 billion Indians is our priority. Given the changing global circumstances, diversifying of energy sources is part of this strategy,” the minister said.He also noted that India had successfully protected sensitive sectors including agriculture and dairy during the negotiations.Modi, unlike Trump, made no mention of any agreement to halt Russian oil imports. But Goyal’s reference to diversification in parliament made clear that India was moving away from buying Russian oil.The careful wording differs sharply from the White House’s account of the deal. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that “India is committed to not only no longer purchasing Russian oil, but buying oil from the United States, also perhaps from Venezuela too, which we know will now have a direct benefit on the United States and the American people.”Leavitt added that Modi had “committed to $500 billion of investments into the United States, including for transportation, for energy and for agricultural products as well. So this is another great trade deal thanks to President Trump.”Trump announced on Monday that the US would cut tariffs on Indian goods to 18% from 50%. The higher rate had included a 25% levy specifically targeting India’s Russian energy purchases.Russian crude accounted for just 0.2% of India’s oil imports until 2021. After Western nations imposed sanctions following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, India became the second-largest buyer of discounted Russian crude, accounting for 40-45% of New Delhi’s foreign oil imports at its height.Data from analytics firm Kpler shows that India’s Russian crude imports have already been falling. Purchases dropped to roughly 1.1 million barrels per day during the first three weeks of January, down from an average of 1.21 million barrels daily the previous month and more than two million barrels per day at their peak in mid-2025.India imports approximately 88% of the crude oil it refines into petrol and diesel.