US Energy Secretary Chris Wright has urged India to reconsider its purchases of discounted Russian crude and said Washington does not intend to punish New Delhi with punitive tariffs, but aims to bring an end to Moscow’s military actions in Ukraine. He emphasised that the US sees a “bright future” with India and called for a greater alignment on the Ukraine conflict.
“There are lots of oil exporters in the world. India doesn’t need to buy Russian oil. India buys Russian oil because it is cheaper. Nobody wants to buy Russian oil; they have to sell it at a discount. India has decided to make the trade-off to buy cheaper oil and look the other way, which is giving money to a guy who’s murdering thousands of people every week,” Wright told news agency ANI at the New York Foreign Press Centre.
‘Buy American Oil’
The US official said that Washington wishes New Delhi would work with them on crude oil purchases.
#WATCH | Secretary for the US Department of Energy, Chris Wright says, “…I am a huge fan of India. We love India. We look forward to more energy trade, more interactions back and forth with India and then India is caught up in the middle of another issue. President Trump’s… pic.twitter.com/fUeOQ787T7
— ANI (@ANI) September 24, 2025
“We wish India would work with us to buy (oil). You can buy oil from every nation on the earth, just not Russian oil. That’s our position. America has oil to sell, so does everybody else,” he said.
“We don’t want to punish India. We want to end the war, and we want to grow our relations with India.”
The remarks came as the Donald Trump administration in the US slapped 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports — among the highest globally — 25 per cent of which are tied to New Delhi’s Russian oil trade. US President Donald Trump has accused New Delhi of “fueling Russia’s deadly attacks on Ukraine” through its discounted crude purchases.
‘India A Key Energy Partner’
Wright said he believes India shares the US goal of ending the Russia-Ukraine war and noted Washington sees New Delhi as a key trading partner.
“I am a huge fan of India. We love India. We look forward to more energy trade, more interactions back and forth with India and then India is caught up in the middle of another issue,” he said.
“I believe Indians want to bring that war to an end, and we want to expand our energy cooperation with India in natural gas, coal, nuclear, clean cooking fuels, and liquid petroleum gas…We want nothing more than more trade and energy cooperation with India.”
‘Trump’s Priority’
The Trump aide emphasised the priority of ending the conflict while strengthening US-India ties and said the US is looking to find a way to put ‘maximum pressure’ on Russia to end the war.
“President (Trump) wants nothing more than this war to end, and it would have the additional benefit of removing a source of friction. I am all in on energy and trade cooperation with India. There’s a bright future there, but somehow we have to figure out how to work together to put the maximum pressure to bring the war to an end,” he said.
Wright said he had met External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on the inauguration night in January, where the two engaged in a dialogue on future cooperation. Talking about his meeting, the US official said, “Russia’s trying to find peace in Ukraine is a sticky thing. We are both within the cabinet in the United States and with our allies, trying to find the most creative ways to bring this war to an end.”
“We all want to see it come to an end. But where does the sanctioned Russian oil go? It goes to China, India, and Turkiye, and that helps Russia fund that war. The friction is on that issue,” he added.