Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping days after U.S. President Donald Trump said India, the largest buyer of Russia’s seaborne oil, would stop importing Russian crude.
Speaking by video link on Wednesday, Putin described Russia’s energy partnership with China as “strategic” and underscored Beijing’s role as Moscow’s top buyer of oil and gas since the start of the war in Ukraine.
China has purchased more than $230 billion worth of Russian energy since the invasion, according to estimates.
Putin said bilateral trade had seen a “slight decline” last year, including a “correction in indicators,” but stressed that Russia remained “among the leaders in energy supplies to China.”
He added that Moscow was ready to maintain “the closest coordination on global and regional issues.”
The talks came two days after Trump announced he would lower tariffs on Indian goods in exchange for New Delhi halting purchases of Russian oil.
Trump also said Washington could lift additional 25% penalty tariffs imposed over India’s energy cooperation with Moscow.
Indian refiners have not yet received instructions to fully stop buying Russian crude and are awaiting a government decision, Reuters reported.
Any halt would likely require a transition period as cargos for February and March have already been contracted, Reuters’ sources said.
The exact volume of Russian oil currently purchased by India is unclear.
Bloomberg, citing data from analytics firm Kpler, estimated India’s January imports at about 1.1 million barrels per day — down 700,000 barrels per day from November and 400,000 barrels per day from January 2025.
S&P Global estimates a sharper decline, saying Russian oil imports into India fell 3.5 times year-on-year and 57% from the previous month, to about 436,000 barrels per day.
According to Bloomberg, oil volumes no longer taken by India are being absorbed by China, which increased imports of Russian crude in January to nearly a record 1.6 million barrels per day.
The highest level was recorded in July 2024 at 1.7 million barrels per day.
Russia has increased discounts to Indian buyers, with some cargoes shipped to Indian ports at prices as low as $25 per barrel, less than half the price of Brent crude.
Analysts at Kpler said India was unlikely to fully abandon Russian oil in the near term, forecasting “stable” imports of 1.1 to 1.3 million barrels per day in the first quarter.
Read this story in Russian at The Moscow Times' Russian service.
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