Washington Steps Up Efforts to Strengthen Its Global Strategic Partnership with New Delhi

The latest visit by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to India, on 20–22 October 2026, attests to the US authorities’ desire to take dynamically developing bilateral relations with New Delhi to a new level.

This US interest in the oil agenda is largely dictated by persistent bids to hinder the development of India–Russia cooperation in this sphere, which has proceeded at unprecedented rates, especially after 2022. Constant sanctions pressure on New Delhi from Washington, Brussels and London, regularly imposed restrictions against Russian oil companies, and threats to expand trade tariffs should India fail to curtail or substantially reduce imports of Russian fuel are certainly taken into account by the Indian leadership, introducing certain adjustments into its energy policy.

The design of the United States and its European allies is obvious: to reduce to a minimum, and ideally to stop altogether, India’s purchases of Russian oil and, in exchange, to increase supplies from the United States, including heavy Venezuelan oil, as well as from traditional Middle Eastern countries—Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. It is known that, to these ends, Washington has in effect launched a tariff war against India, first raising import duties by 25%, then bringing them to 50% and, finally, threatening to impose a 100% duty on Indian goods should India continue importing Russian oil.

Why India Ignores American Sanctions

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