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United States President Donald Trump has claimed that his “friend” Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia, a move he described as a “big step” toward increasing pressure on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine.
According to media reports, India’s continuing purchase of petroleum products from Russia, notwithstanding Western sanctions, has become a major issue that resulted in a severe downturn in ties between New Delhi and Washington.
Speaking to reporters at his Oval Office , he said the US was “not happy” that India was buying Russian crude, arguing such purchases helped finance President Vladimir Putin’s war.
“He (Modi) is a friend of mine, we have a great relationship… we were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war where they’ve lost a million and a half people,” Trump said in response to a question.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and (Modi) 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,” he said.
India is the second-largest buyer of Russian fossil fuels behind China, according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA).
The US president said India may not be able to cut the procurement immediately, but the process has started.
“He (Modi) has assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia. I don’t know, maybe that’s a breaking story. Can I say that?… He’s not buying his oil from Russia. It (has) started. He can’t do it immediately; it’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon,” Trump claimed.
