Russia promises to increase oil, LNG supplies to India

Amid the oil shock and supply chain disruptions triggered by the U.S.-Israel war on Iran, Russia has assured that its energy companies have the capacity to “steadily increase” the supply of oil and liquified natural gas (LNG) to India, and also “continue” to address India’s fertilizer needs.

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Russian Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov, on a two-day visit, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday (April 2, 2026) and discussed the supply of fertilizers. He met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, and the leaders discussed continued energy supply to India.

The high-level Russian visit is being seen as part of the preparations by the two sides ahead of the upcoming BRICS summit to be hosted by India and the India-Russia annual summit scheduled in Russia this year.

“We discussed our mutually beneficial cooperation in trade, fertilizers, connectivity and people-to-people ties,” said Mr. Modi, who “welcomed sustained efforts from both sides” to realise the agreements of the 23rd India-Russia Annual Summit hosted here in December 2025.

In a press note, the External Affairs Ministry said Mr. Jaishankar and Mr. Manturov “exchanged views on regional and global developments including the conflict in West Asia.” 

According to the Russian embassy, Mr. Manturov said that Russia has increased supplies of “in-demand mineral fertilizers to India by 40 percent and is ready to continue meeting India’s needs for this product.” He also mentioned that a joint project for the production of carbamide (urea) is “under development”.

“Particular attention was paid to cooperation in the oil and gas sector. Denis Manturov confirmed that Russian companies have the capacity to steadily increase supplies of oil and liquified natural gas to the Indian market,” said the embassy readout.

Mr. Manturov said Russia will deepen nuclear cooperation with India. Other topics such as industrial cooperation, space and educational projects were discussed in the meetings.

Mr. Manturov’s Delhi visit, which ended on Friday (April 3, 2026), took place days after Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Mr. Jaishankar addressed a conference on bilateral relations through a video link on March 23, 2026, during which Mr. Lavrov indicated at Russia’s preparations for the annual summit.

Mr. Lavrov had expressed Russia’s support for the BRICS where India is the current Chair. The group has attracted attention in recent weeks as it has not made a statement on the evolving situation in West Asia, though Russia, India and China, who form a trilateral sub-group called RIC, have indicated that they will work closely within BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the UN on issues that affect common interests of the Global South. 

This was followed by the March 30 Foreign Office Consultations between India and Russia led by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri and Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko. This week, the Indian side hosted Vladimir Yakushev, First Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council (upper house) of the Federal Assembly of Russia. On Thursday, Mr. Yakushev met Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha Harivansh Narayan Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla. He also met Bharatiya Janata Party president Nitin Nabin.

The flurry of conversations between India and Russia has coincided with the growing energy insecurity in India and rest of South Asia as the war in West Asia continued in the second month. The U.S. had imposed penalty tariffs on India in August 2025 and made India cut down on Russian energy imports with the aim to force Russia make concessions in the war in Ukraine. However, in the backdrop of the crisis in the global energy market, the U.S. on March 6 issued a “temporary 30-day waiver” that let Indian refiners purchase Russian crude.