The United States has played down India’s warning that a proposed Russia sanctions law could hurt bilateral ties, saying Washington understands New Delhi’s response to the legislation. A senior US State Department official said there were “no sort of hard feelings” over India’s concerns about the bill.

The Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act, passed by the US House of Representatives, could impose tariffs of up to 100% on the top five buyers of Russian energy. India is expected to be among the countries affected if the measure becomes law.

“Of course, the Indian government has to respond. Congress took a pretty hard approach, especially publicly. You had members of Congress calling out India in particular, so of course India has to respond. We understand that they have a domestic constituency, as do we. Like there’s no sort of hard feelings on any of that kind of activity,” said the official.

After the House passed the bill, India’s Ministry of External Affairs warned that the legislation could affect the US-India relationship. The MEA said New Delhi had already raised the issue with senior US officials in recent months.

“This issue has been discussed at high levels in recent months with various US interlocutors. Its potential implications for not just the bilateral relationship but also the international energy market have been very clearly articulated by the Indian side,” the MEA said in its statement.

The US official said the bill would give President Donald Trump a tool with a “broad national security waiver”. The official did not say whether India would receive such a waiver. However, the official noted that the US president could use the waiver authority in certain situations.

The sanctions issue also came up during a meeting between External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. According to the US State Department’s readout, Rubio said Washington could be “well positioned” to help countries meet their energy security needs.

Asked whether this meant the US could help India diversify its energy sources, the official said India has been seeking to diversify for a long time. The official noted that India has significant energy demand and its options had become limited after Venezuelan and Iranian oil supplies were cut off.

The official added that India could now gain access to the Venezuelan market following what he described as President Trump’s “incredibly successful operation in Venezuela”. He said Rubio had publicly discussed efforts to improve access to that market and that Indian officials were interested.

The senior US official also highlighted Washington’s continued engagement with India through the Quad, which held regular meetings during 2026. Rubio is scheduled to visit India in October, marking his second visit this year.