Russia remains the South Asian nation's biggest crude supplier, the government's press office has said

India does not need "permission" from the US or anyone else to purchase Russian oil, its government has said in a statement. Russia has remained the South Asian nation's biggest crude oil supplier despite external pressure, it added.

The statement came in response to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announcing that Washington will allow India to buy Russian crude to stabilize global energy markets amid the conflict with Iran.

Global oil prices have surged by more than 30% as the war approaches the one-week mark and the Strait of Hormuz - a vital energy chokepoint through which about one-fifth of global oil and LNG supplies pass - remains closed.

"India has never depended on permission from any country to buy Russian oil," the government's Press Information Bureau (PIB) said, adding that it would not be relying on "a short-term waiver" for such purchases. Neither had it been affected by previous US attempts to make it abandon Russian energy imports, the statement said.

"India is still importing Russian oil even [through] February 2026, and Russia is still India's largest crude oil supplier," the PIB said.

Since 2022, India has significantly increased its oil purchases from Russia after the US and EU imposed sanctions on Moscow over the escalation of the Ukraine conflict. In July 2025, Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri said Russia accounted for nearly 40% of the country's oil imports.

The US sanctions approach "does not define India's policy," a government official told the Times of India, adding that New Delhi is instead guided by the "affordability, availability, and sustainability" of supplies. Another official called the US statements about the waiver "hollow slogans."

Washington has long urged New Delhi to halt the imports, with US Ambassador to India Sergio Gor saying last month that the White House was using trade talks to push India to buy Venezuelan oil instead.

US President Donald Trump had claimed earlier that New Delhi "agreed to stop" oil imports from Russia. India has never confirmed such a commitment, maintaining what it called "strategic autonomy" in its policy.