“US buys nuclear fuel from us.” Arriving in India for his first visit since the start of the war, Putin has a question for Trump
Russian President Vladimir Putin disputed strong US pressure on India not to buy Russian fuel at the start of a two-day official visit where he was greeted on arrival by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, writes Reuters.
Putin made the remarks in an interview with Indian television station India Today, broadcast hours after he landed in New Delhi for a visit in which the two countries seek to boost trade with each other and expand the range of traded products.
Putin's first visit to India in four years since the start of the Ukraine war is aimed at boosting sales of Russian oil, missile systems and fighter jets and expanding trade ties beyond energy and defense equipment amid US pressure on India to distance itself from Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
“US buys nuclear fuel from Russia”
New Delhi and Moscow have strong ties dating back to the days of the former Soviet Union, and Russia has been India's main arms source for decades. India has also become the main buyer of Russian oil shipped by sea, despite Western sanctions imposed after Moscow launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
However, India's crude imports are set to hit a three-year low this month after the US imposed punitive tariffs on Indian products and tightened sanctions against Russia, with US President Donald Trump's administration saying India's purchases of cheap Russian crude help fund Moscow's war in Ukraine.
“The United States itself is still buying nuclear fuel from us for its own nuclear power plants. That's all fuel,” Putin told India Today.
“If the US has the right to buy our fuel, why should India not have the same privilege? This question deserves a thorough examination and we are ready to discuss it, including with President Trump,” the Kremlin leader said.
India says the tariffs imposed by Trump are unjustified and unreasonable and has pointed to continued US trade with Moscow. The US and the European Union continue to import billions of dollars worth of Russian energy and goods, from liquefied natural gas (LNG) to enriched uranium.
“Oil trade between Russia and India goes smoothly”
“There is a certain decrease in total trade turnover in the first nine months of this year,” Putin said when asked if India's oil purchases had fallen under pressure from the West.
“It is only a minor adjustment. Overall, the turnover of our trade is almost at the same level as before,” said the Russian president.
He added: “The trade in petroleum products and crude oil… with Russian oil, is going on smoothly in India.”
Asked how India and Russia should relate to Trump and his tariffs, Putin replied that the US president has advisers who believe that implementing such tariff policies will ultimately benefit the US economy. “We hope that eventually all violations of World Trade Organization regulations will be rectified,” the Kremlin leader said.
Modi gave Putin a warm welcome
Hours before the interview, Modi received Putin at the Delhi airport, a rare gesture that underscores the warm relations between the two leaders.
They embraced on the red carpet of the runway and then left in the same car to a private dinner hosted by the Indian Prime Minister.
Senior Russian ministers and a large delegation of Russian businessmen are in New Delhi for Putin's visit, and the two leaders will hold high-level talks on Friday, when they are expected to announce a series of deals.
“I am delighted to welcome my friend President Putin to India. The friendship between India and Russia is a time-tested one that has brought great benefits to our peoples,” Modi wrote in a message posted on social media X before the private dinner.
The objective to expand and diversify trade
India and Russia aim to increase bilateral trade to $100 billion by 2030. Trade between the two countries has grown more than fivefold from about $13 billion in 2021 to nearly $69 billion in 2024-25, almost entirely due to Indian energy imports.
Bilateral trade fell to $28.25 billion in April-August 2025, reflecting a drop in crude oil imports.
At the same time, India is looking for new destinations to increase its exports of goods hit by Trump's punitive 50% tariff.
Russia wants to import more Indian goods to balance bilateral trade, which is currently heavily energy-oriented, Maxim Oreshkin, the Kremlin's deputy chief of staff, told a business conference in New Delhi on Thursday.
Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said New Delhi wants to diversify exports to Russia and increase sales of automobiles, electronics, data processing equipment, heavy machinery, industrial components, textiles and food products.
