Indian FM declares Russian oil imports will continue despite US pressure

Rating Justification

The iVerify Pakistan team investigated this content and determined that it is false.

To reach this conclusion, iVerify Pakistan conducted a keyword search to find the original source.

Posts from multiple Indian users on social media platform X since August 2, 2025, claimed that Indian Foreign Minister Subhramanyam Jaishankar said India would continue to buy Russian oil despite White House protestations. However, there is no evidence for him having made any such statement.

United States President Donald Trump on July 30 imposed a 25 per cent tariff on goods imported from India starting August 1, along with an unspecified penalty for buying Russian weapons and oil.

The US decision singles out India more severely than other major trading partners, and threatens to unravel months of talks between the two countries, undermining a key strategic partner of Washington and a counterbalance to China. Indian government sources said that New Delhi will keep purchasing oil from Moscow despite US threats.

HOW IT STARTED

On August 2, a post on X attributed the following statement to Jaishankar: “Our economy will not be run from the White House … Russian oil will continue to flow to India.”

The post was viewed by 2.6 million users.

The statement was also shared by a Middle Eastern digital media outlet, racking up 738,000 views.

Other shares of the same claim can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Notably, the posts did not share details of the context such as where and when the alleged statement was made.

METHODOLOGY

A fact-check was initiated to determine the veracity of the claim due to its virality and keen public interest in the current tensions between India and the U.S.

A keyword search for “India”, “Jaishankar”, “White House” and ‘Russia’ yielded recent news stories from international and Indian media outlets, but none included the alleged statement by FM Jaishankar.

Checking recent press releases and media briefings on the official website of India’s Ministry of External Affairs or the minister’s social media accounts yielded no evidence of the alleged statement.

In the latest media briefing dated August 1, 2025, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal addressed a related query about Indian oil companies allegedly halting purchases from Russia.

He clarified that India’s energy sourcing decisions are driven by market prices and global conditions, not by external pressure. He also emphasised India’s independent, merit-based foreign policy, including its time-tested partnership with Russia and its deepening strategic ties with the United States.

An August 3 story, published by Reuters featured quotes from Indian government sources acknowledging continued oil purchases from Russia as part of their “long-term oil contracts”.

However, no credible evidence was found that Jaishankar made the alleged statement.

FACT-CHECK STATUS: FALSE

The claim about a statement being attributed to Indian Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar declaring continued oil purchases from Russia despite US pressure is false.

There is no evidence of the Indian foreign minister having made such such a statement anywhere.

Evidence and References

August 1, 2025, MEA India media briefing:
https://www.mea.gov.in/media-briefings.htm?dtl/39932/Transcript_of_Weekly_Media_Briefing_by_the_Official_Spokesperson_August_01_2025

August 2, 2025, Reuters news report:
https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/india-maintain-russian-oil-imports-despite-trump-threats-government-sources-say-2025-08-02/