US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that Delhi's relationship with Moscow remains a "point of irritation" in India-US ties.

Rubio's statement comes a day after US President Donald Trump said he would impose 25% tariffs on Indian goods "plus an unspecified penalty", for buying Russian oil and weapons.

In an interview to Fox News Radio on Thursday, Rubio called India an "ally" and "strategic partner" but added that Delhi's purchase of Russian oil was hampering its relationship with Washington.

Russian oil made up 35% to 40% of India's oil imports in 2024 - up from 3% in 2021.

India has not officially commented on Rubio's statement. 

Delhi has defended its purchases of Russian oil, arguing that as a major energy importer, it must buy the cheapest available crude to protect millions of poor Indians from rising costs.

India ramped up its purchase of cheaper Russian crude after the Ukraine war began, triggered by sanctions from the West. 

Rubio acknowledged India's reasons for buying Russian oil, noting that the country had huge energy needs and that it was buying from Moscow because of its discounted prices. But he added that this was fuelling the Russian war effort in Ukraine.

"I think what you're seeing the President express is the very clear frustration that with so many other oil vendors available, India continues to buy so much from Russia," he added, alluding to Trump's threat of imposing penalties on Indian companies buying Russian oil and weapons.

Reuters news agency reported that India's state-owned refineries like Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum Corp (BPCL), Mangalore Refinery Petrochemical Ltd (MRPL) and Indian Oil Corp (IOCL) had stopped importing Russian crude since the past week due to lowered discounts.

The BBC has reached out to the companies for comment.

HSBC Global Investment Research also said there was a "significant decline" already in India's oil purchases from Russia in July. 

India's petroleum ministry has denied asking state-run refiners to stop buying Russian crude.

But last month, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said India could meet its oil needs from other sources if US sanctions disrupted Russian supplies.

He said India had widened its pool of oil suppliers from 27 to about 40 countries.

Any diversification in India's oil imports away from Russia is expected to have a minimal impact on India's current account deficit - the gap between the value of a country's exports and imports and international transfers of capital - according to CareEdge, a ratings agency. 

"The price differential between Russian Ural and Brent Crude has significantly narrowed to around $3 per barrel from an average of $20 per barrel in 2023," CareEdge said in a note.

Meanwhile Trump's comments about India's trade ties with Russia have evoked a sharp reaction in Moscow. 

On Wednesday, Trump posted on Truth Social that he didn't care how the two countries handled their relationship.

"They can take their dead economies down together, for all I care," he wrote.

On Friday, the Deputy Chairman of Russia's Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev responded to Trump's "dead economies" comment with what seemed like a warning.

He urged Trump to imagine the zombie TV drama The Walking Dead, referencing the Soviet Union's system for a last-resort nuclear strike.

"As for the talk about the 'dead economies' of India and Russia, and 'entering dangerous territory' - maybe he should recall his favourite movies about 'the walking dead,' and also remember how dangerous the so-called 'Dead Hand,' which doesn't even exist, could be," Medvedev wrote on Telegram.

The 'Dead Hand' was a Cold War-era Soviet system allegedly built to launch nuclear weapons automatically if it detected an attack - without human orders.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cyvn35dej19o

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