The US president says he also wants China to cease its purchases
US President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi “assured” him that India will stop buying Russian oil.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Trump said he considers Modi a friend but is disappointed with India’s continued purchases of Russian oil.
”I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step. Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” Trump said.
A few hours after Trump’s statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said India’s “consistent priority” is to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers “in a volatile energy scenario,” adding: “Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective.”
📹 Modi ‘Assured Me’ India Will Stop Buying Russian Oil – Trump Makes Tall Claim
”Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement,” he said. “This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing.”
In August, Trump announced a 25% tariff on India as a penalty for importing Russian oil, and has repeatedly said that he hopes to put a stop to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
“If India doesn’t buy oil, it makes it much easier, and they’re not going to buy, they assured me they will, within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump said on Wednesday. “And they’ll go back to Russia after the war is over.”
Since 2022, New Delhi has significantly ramped up oil imports from Russia. In September, 34% of India’s oil imports came from the country, according to Kpler data.
Private Indian companies have been buying Russian oil at discounted rates and exporting processed oil products to European markets.
Some refiners in India have started making payments in yuan for crude purchases, instead of the US dollar.
