Russia on Tuesday weighed into the growing spat between India and the U.S., with the Kremlin saying New Delhi is free to choose its own trading partners.

Washington and India’s leadership are at loggerheads over imports of Russian oil, with U.S. President Donald Trump threatening New Delhi with much steeper tariffs if it continues to purchase the commodity from Russia.

The Kremlin, an important trading partner of India’s and one which had stayed silent as the spat erupted in the last few days, commented that Trump’s tariff threats are “attempts to force countries to stop trade relations with Russia.”

“We do not consider such statements to be legitimate,” Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov continued, speaking to reporters Tuesday.

“We believe that sovereign countries should have, and have the right to choose their own trade partners, partners in trade and economic cooperation. And to choose those trade and economic cooperation regimes that are in the interests of a particular country.”

The dispute between Trump and New Delhi is being closely watched by investors after Trump threatened on Monday that he would be “substantially raising” the tariffs on India, although he did not specify the level of the higher tariffs. The president had threatened a 25% duty on Indian exports, as well as an unspecified “penalty” last week.

He also accused India of buying discounted Russian oil and “selling it on the Open Market for big profits.”

India hit back at the U.S. later on Monday, accusing it and the European Union of hypocrisy.

“It is revealing that the very nations criticizing India are themselves indulging in trade with Russia. Unlike our case, such trade is not even a vital national compulsion [for them],” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

Western countries have used sanctions and import restrictions as a way to stifle Moscow’s oil export-generated revenues that fund its war machine against Ukraine. However, some of Russia’s trading partners, particularly India and China, have continued their purchases of discounted Russian crude that their economies largely rely on.

India and Russia’s trade relationship has grown since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022; Russia became India’s leading oil supplier after the war began, with imports increasing from just under 100,000 barrels per day before the invasion — 2.5% of total imports — to more than 1.8 million barrels per day in 2023 — 39% of overall imports, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said earlier this year.

— CNBC’s Lim Hui Jie contributed reporting to this story.

BP CEO Murray Auchincloss on Tuesday leaned into the growth potential of the company’s recent oil and gas discoveries, as the struggling energy major contends with takeover questions and a major turnaround plan.

“Inside the upstream, we’ve had tremendous performance, along with record operating efficiency [and] along with starting up five new major projects,” BP’s Auchincloss told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe“, just after the release of the company’s second-quarter results.

He added that he was “very optimistic” about the company’s latest exploration discovery in the Bumerangue block in Brazil’s Santos Basin, just over 400 kilometers (248.5 miles) from Rio de Janeiro. BP is currently carrying out tests to further analyze the block’s potential.

The Bumerangue discovery, announced Monday, is the firm’s 10th since the start of the year and reflects a potentially significant boost as BP continues to double down on hydrocarbons.

After underperforming its peers in recent years, the firm has shifted gears by way of a fundamental strategic reset that will see BP prioritize fossil fuels and slash renewable spending.

Earlier on Tuesday, the energy major reported underlying replacement cost profit, used as a proxy for net profit, of $2.35 billion for the three months through June — comfortably beating analyst expectations of $1.81 billion, according to an LSEG-compiled consensus.

Ramping up investor returns, the company also said its quarterly dividend will increase to 8.32 cents from 8 cents and that it will maintain the pace of its share buyback program at $750 million for the second quarter.

Shares of the company were last seen trading 1.6% higher during morning deals.

The downturn of recent years has turned BP into the subject of intense takeover speculation, with some questioning a potential future merger with domestic rival Shell. For its part, Shell in late June said that it had “no intention” of making an offer.

UAE oil giant ADNOC, as well as U.S. oil giants Exxon Mobil and Chevron, are among some of the names that have also been touted as possible suitors.

Asked whether the company had been approached by any potential merger partners amid ongoing takeover speculation, Auchincloss said BP is focused on growth.

“That’s what is going to drive the share price up for shareholders,” he added.

Maurizio Carulli, global energy analyst at Quilter Cheviot, said BP’s earnings were the company’s first positive quarterly results “in a very long time,” noting that “what is perhaps most encouraging” was the firm’s outperformance came despite a period of lower oil prices.

“The management team has clearly started delivering on the strategy reset announced a few months ago. There has been huge speculation of late on the fate of BP and whether or not a rival will look to take them out with a merger,” Carulli said.

“If positive results like this continue to be delivered, that speculation may just end up being a blip in BP’s long and storied history,” he added.

BP, which is under intense pressure to improve profitability from the likes of activist investor Elliott, noted that it would initiate a further cost review of its assets — mere weeks before Albert Manifold joins BP’s board from Sept. 1 and as chair from Oct. 1.

Asked for further details of this strategic review, Auchincloss told CNBC: “If you think back to 2020, we reduced our costs by 25%, and in 2024 we announced another program to reduce our costs by another 20%. That’s the $4-5 billion that I referenced earlier.”

“If we can achieve that, that will take us to around top quartile in the sector, but I don’t think that is enough,” Auchincloss said.

BP’s net debt came in at $26.04 billion at the end of the second quarter, down from nearly $27 billion compared to the first three months of the year.

“We need to keep driving safely to be the very best in the sector we can be. And that’s why we’re focused on another review to try to drive us toward best in class inside the sector,” Auchincloss added.