US President Donald Trump has broken his silence on the buzzworthy development surrounding the United States allows certain Russian oil sales to India amid the ongoing security crisis in West Asia and the Gulf. The Republican leader spoke to reporters aboard the US Air Force One shortly after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated the country’s “permission” to Indian to accept Russian oil in a Fox Business interview.

When asked about Bessent’s recent comments and whether the US is considering anything else, including the SPR, Trump said, “If there were some, I would do it just to take a little of the pressure off.” He briefly added, “I think the oil pressure–there’s a lot of oil. We’ve got a lot of oil. Our country has a tremendous amount and we have, there’s a lot of oil out there. That’s get healed very quickly.”

Here, “SPR” refers to the US Strategic Petroleum ‌Reserve, which is held on the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, and is regarded as the world’s largest emergency oil stockpile holding over 415 million barrels of crude, according to Reuters.

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Trump’s response comes days after a Reuters report indicated that selling oil from the SPR after the joint US-Israeli attacks on Iran was “not currently being discussed.” A US source countered any other suggestions, telling the news outlet, “Oil markets remain well ⁠supplied.”

What Scott Bessent said on the India-Russian oil situation

As Brent crude prices are soaring with the Iran war hampering the transportation of tankers from the Strait of Hormuz, Bessent told Fox Business on Saturday that a limited-period waiver would allow Russian oil cargoes stranded at sea to be sold to Indian buyers.

“The world is well supplied in oil thanks to @POTUS’ policy of American Energy Dominance,” Bessent wrote on X. In direct reference to his recent interview with the US news outlet, he added online, “Our allies in India have been good actors and have previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil. As we work to ease the temporary gap of oil supply around the world, we have temporarily permitted them to accept Russian oil that is already on the water.”

“This deliberately short-term measure will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government because it only authorizes transactions involving oil already stranded at sea.”

Where does India stand on the oil imports crisis?

According to ANI, Indian relies on nearly 40% of its oil imports from the Middle East. Notably, a significant portion of those imports is transported to the Strait of Hormuz. As per the country’s fresh stance on the oil issue amid the Iran war, officials, including Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri, have asserted that India is not bracing for any sort of shortage of energy.

“Our priority is to ensure availability of affordable and sustainable fuel for our citizens, and we are doing it comfortably,” he wrote on X Friday. “There is no shortage of energy in India and there is no cause of worry for our energy consumers.”

On Saturday, he again stressed that India’s energy imports are “in full flow from all non-Hormuz routes,” and citizens’ requirements are being met. Addressing measures taken by the country in the changing global order, he shared details of conversations developing the behind the scenes.

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“In my excellent interaction with members of the media fraternity today, we discussed how India is navigating the trilemma of energy availability, affordability and sustainability even in the face of the current geopolitical challenges,” Puri wrote on X. “Energy imports into the country are in full flow from all Non-Hormuz routes. The energy requirements of our citizens are being fully met. India is in a comfortable position. There is no room for anxiety or speculation in this regard.”

Government sources also noted that Qatar had offered certain guarantees regarding LNG’s continued supply. “We are assured by Qatar that they will start supplying to India on the very first minute once the route is open,” they said, as per ANI. Officials further asserted, “We have surplus stock of LNG” and “We have got offer of LNG from a large number of countries.”

Offering an update on cargo movements from the Strait, ANI quoted Indian government sources, saying that the “cargo movement near the Strait of Hormuz may start soon.” This particularly unfolded after Iran vowed not to target neighbouring countries unless attacked from their territory. However, military attacks against Gulf territories like Bahrain and Kuwait continued well into early Sunday morning despite previous promises.