New Delhi: India’s energy security could face serious disruption as US President Donald Trump’s administration moves to widen secondary sanctions targeting major Russian oil companies, former Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran has warned. He said Washington’s latest pressure directly affects India’s biggest importers, including Reliance Industries, which remain tied to the US financial system.
In an interview with The Wire, he said Trump’s geopolitical priorities have shifted away from the earlier Indo-Pacific framework, reducing India’s strategic importance in Washington and limiting room for negotiations. He added that the absence of a US-India trade deal reflects broader uncertainty and is not merely a tariff dispute.
Saran also dismissed Trump’s public claims that Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to scale down Russian oil imports. He said such a commitment would be politically and economically unrealistic for New Delhi, especially ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s expected visit in December.
According to him, state-owned refiners may continue sourcing Russian barrels through alternative channels, but large private importers relying on US financing face growing risks. He said India may eventually be forced to cut Russian crude volumes if sanctions expand further.
He cautioned that revived US outreach to Pakistan could add fresh friction to bilateral ties. He also highlighted that grouping mechanisms once central to US policy, such as the Quad, no longer receive priority attention in Washington.
“The relationship will not return to the comfort of earlier years anytime soon,” he said, stressing that India must reassess both expectations and strategy as global alignments shift.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: ZEE News
