Former US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated his claim that India has “de-escalated” its purchases of Russian oil during a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House.
“India is not going to be buying Russian oil anymore. They have already de-escalated and more or less stopped. They bought about 38 percent of the oil, and they won’t be doing it anymore,” Trump said, adding that the process of completely halting purchases would take some time.
Trump also claimed that during a telephonic conversation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi “assured” him that India would stop buying oil from Russia. “You can’t do it immediately. It’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon,” he noted, emphasizing that stopping oil purchases would make it “much easier” to end the conflict in Ukraine.
Trump also described PM Modi as a “great man” and India as an incredible country.
However, India has rejected Trump’s claims. On Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified that there was no telephonic conversation between PM Modi and Trump regarding Russian oil. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated, “Regarding the comment from the US on the energy issue, we have already issued a statement. As for the telephonic conversation, I can say that there has been no discussion between the Prime Minister and President Trump.”
India has purchased Russian oil over the past few years, though China remains Moscow’s largest energy buyer. The Trump administration had imposed an additional 25% tariff on India in August for purchasing Russian oil, while taking no similar action against China.
Trump’s statements coincided with India’s trade negotiating team being in Washington for the next round of talks with US officials. The Commerce Ministry has stated that India can import more crude oil and natural gas worth $12–13 billion from the US without modifying refinery configurations. The government continues to explore ways to diversify its energy import portfolio, focusing on availability at the “right price.”
The trade discussions resume shortly after the new US Ambassador to India, Sergio Gor, visited New Delhi and met PM Modi, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
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