NEW DELHI: India’s imports of Russian oil may decline for only “a brief period” as Moscow plans to boost supplies, using sophisticated technology to avert the impact of Western sanctions, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday.

His remarks came ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s two-day visit to New Delhi from Thursday, looking to restore defence and energy ties as the South Asian nation is set to trim its Russian oil purchases this month to at least a three-year low.

Russia’s top buyer of seaborne oil, India, has cut crude imports from Moscow under pressure from Western sanctions, particularly by Washington on Moscow’s top oil producers Rosneft and Lukoil.

“There can be, for a very brief period of time, insignificant decreases in the volume of oil trade,” Peskov told Indian journalists, in response to a question about the impact of sanctions.

Russia is the top oil supplier to India, the world’s third biggest oil importer and consumer.

Published in Dawn, December 3rd, 2025