India can switch from Russian crude, but at a cost: Analysts

Indian oil refiners can shift away from Russian crude after US President Donald Trump imposed sanctions on Moscow’s two largest oil companies ~ but the move will come at a cost, analysts said on Oct 24.

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Oil pump jacks in Russia. US officials have accused India of helping to fund Russia's war in Ukraine by buying discounted oil from Moscow.

(PHOTO: REUTERS)

Mr Trump has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to cut its Russian oil imports as part of a prospective US trade deal - something New Delhi has not confirmed.

Relations between the countries plummeted in August after Mr Trump raised tariffs on Indian exports to the US to 50 per cent.

US officials have accused India of helping to fund Russia's war in Ukraine by buying discounted oil from Moscow.

There has been no immediate response from India's foreign or oil ministries, or from major refiners, since Washington announced the sanctions on Oct 23.

"The key is to what extent Modi bends to the American will," Mr Jorge Montepeque of Onyx Capital said, adding that the "initial responses were that the state oil companies were very cautious".