The US is ready to assist India in diversifying its energy imports, which reiterated its demand that New Delhi not buy Russian oil in the wake of US sanctions on Moscow for fighting Ukraine, the White House said.

The statement by White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki comes as the West grows increasingly concerned about India's signal that it may buy higher volumes of discounted crude oil from Russia. The White House said on Monday that it does not believe it is in India's best interests to "accelerate or increase" its imports of Russian energy and other commodities while promising to cooperate with New Delhi to help it reduce its reliance on Moscow.

"We do not believe India should accelerate or expand imports of Russian energy and other goods, even though individual countries make those decisions," Psaki said at her daily press briefing.  "The US is also making clear that we stand ready to support India in any efforts to diversify its imports and serve as a trustworthy supplier, despite the fact that they only import around 1% to 2% of their oil from Russia," she said in response to a question.

India imports the majority of its energy from the Middle East and between 7.5 to 8% from the United States, with less than 1% coming from Russia in the past.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated on Wednesday that India is vehemently opposed to the Russia-Ukraine dispute because no solution can be reached by bloodshed, and that if New Delhi has picked a side, it is the side of peace and an immediate end to violence.

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