The US secretary of state made the comments before meeting his Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio claimed on Saturday that India has expressed an interest in diversifying its oil imports.

Rubio was addressing reporters following last week's announcement of new US sanctions targeting Russian oil majors Rosneft and Lukoil.

Replying to a question on whether India would be willing to reduce its purchases of Russian oil, Rubio said, "Well, I think India has already expressed an interest in diversifying their oil portfolio and who they buy from. And, so, India only needs so much oil."

A few hours later, Rubio met his Indian counterpart, S. Jaishankar, on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia - where the two diplomats discussed bilateral ties, regional, and global issues.

Last week, US President Donald Trump repeated his claim that India would reduce its oil imports from Russia, after a conversation with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The US imposed a 25% tariff on India in August, citing its increased imports of Russian oil and allegations that this was helping fuel the Ukraine conflict.

In September, 34% of India's oil imports came from Russia. New Delhi has repeatedly called out "double standards" on energy trade, stating that it "does not subscribe to any unilateral sanction measures" and is a "responsible actor" in the global energy sector.

On Friday, Indian Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal pointed out that the West was applying double standards by exempting Russian oil companies from sanctions while pressuring India to halt its purchases.

"I read a report that Germany has reached out to the US for seeking exemption [for a Rosneft subsidiary]. The UK already has an exemption for procuring oil," Goyal said.

(RT.com)