US President Donald Trump has recently imposed an additional 25 per cent in tariffs on Indian exports to the United States for importing Russian crude, taking the total tariffs to a whopping 50 per cent. The argument is that India is “enabling" Russia to carry on its war against Ukraine by buying Russian oil.

However, beneath the clamour of political rhetoric and dramatic posturing lies the irony: India’s procurement of Russian crude is not only rational but also necessary for even those who are decrying it. On the other hand, it is the West that is funding Russia by buying its oil in much larger quantities.

A deeper, objective look into the context would help dispel several myths that have been propagated against India. As Western countries severely sanctioned Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, the European Union, which had been Moscow’s largest customer of oil and petroleum products (importing around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude and 1.2 million bpd of refined oil products in 2021), faced a serious challenge.

The truth is that even as Western countries sharpened their tirade against trading with Russia and banned direct Russian imports, many of them kept acquiring Russian oil and gas through indirect routes. One of the key trade routes was to get it re-exported from Turkey. According to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA), EU member states spent €21.9........

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