The US president has realized that he stands to lose more than he would gain by imposing sanctions on New Delhi, Deepak Bhojwani has said

New Delhi "never stopped buying Russian crude" despite US sanctions on two of Russia's biggest oil firms, Deepak Bhojwani, India's former ambassador to several Latin American countries, including Colombia, Venezuela, and Cuba, told RT on Friday.

Washington imposed sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil in October, which were temporarily lifted last month after the US war on Iran and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz wreaked havoc on global fuel supplies. The US Treasury extended the sanctions waiver last week.

This allowed India to import more than $5 billion in oil in April, Bhojwani said.

"No matter what [US President] Donald Trump does, even if he levies sanctions and threatens, we will buy oil from Russia," he said, stating that New Delhi has "called Trump's bluff."

"India isn't powerless. India doesn't have zero recourse," the career diplomat stressed. "It has agreements with other countries, the EU most recently, and Trump realizes that he could lose more than he could gain by sanctioning India."

While New Delhi has found alternative sources for oil, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has almost entirely "choked off" gas supplies, Bhojwani said, adding that India relies on Gulf nations for imports of the fuel.

"It's a horrendous proposition to think that this could go on for a few weeks more," he said. "[Trump] has spent blood, American blood and American treasure on a wasted war, which he has lost already."

The US president's allies in Europe "are beginning to realize that he's a losing proposition," Bhojwani said, adding that he suspects New Delhi is "waiting his term out."

Watch the full interview below.

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(RT.com)