The Kabul Tribune (KT) — U.S. President Donald Trump said on Saturday, February 1, 2026, that India will buy oil from Venezuela, in a move aimed at helping New Delhi replace some of the Russian oil it imports.
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while traveling from Washington to Florida, Trump said, “We’ve already made that deal, the concept of the deal.”
Trump noted that India had stopped buying Venezuelan oil last year after he imposed a 25 % tariff on countries purchasing Venezuelan crude. He said India’s new purchases would help substitute Russian oil imports.
Trump also said the arrangement would involve India buying Venezuelan oil instead of Iranian crude, even though India largely stopped importing Iranian oil in 2019 due to earlier U.S. sanctions.
Earlier, India had turned to U.S. oil to make up for the loss of Iranian supply and then became the top buyer of discounted Russian oil after Western sanctions were imposed on Moscow following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
In August, Trump doubled duties on imports from India to 50 % to pressure New Delhi to reduce its Russian oil purchases, and early this year officials signaled the additional tariff could be removed because of what they described as a sharp drop in India’s Russian oil imports.
The U.S. government also lifted some sanctions on Venezuela’s oil industry this week to make it easier for U.S. companies to sell Venezuelan crude.
Trump said China could also make a deal to buy Venezuelan oil, adding that Beijing would be “welcome” to do so, though he gave no details.
The comments reflect efforts to strengthen U.S.–India relations after a year of tensions over energy and trade.
