US President Donald Trump has again brought India's oil import from Russia into the limelight, stating, Modi “is not going to be doing the Russian oil thing.” Addressing journalists aboard Air Force One on Monday, Trump declared, "I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he's not going to be doing the Russian oil thing." This is the third time within less than a week that the US President has made the claim, bringing international attention.
Tariff threats if India disagrees
Trump also spoke about India's refusal to acknowledge any such dialogue. Trump said, "But if they want to say that, then they'll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don't want to do that,” Reuters reported.
The statement is made as the two nations are engaged in bilateral trade talks. Trump had earlier imposed a 50% tax on Indian imports, including a 25% of these duties that was implemented in August, directly on India's Russian oil trade. Members of the Trump administration argued India made "huge" profits from the sale of Russian oil, which was said to have increased steeply after Russia invaded Ukraine.
'He assured me,' says Trump
Trump's comments last week raised eyebrows around the world. ".... I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That's a big step," he said.
He said that stopping the oil trade would take a while, indicating it would be "within a short period of time " because it was a "little bit of a process." According to a Hindustan Times report, at a bilateral lunch with President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, Trump once again said, " Well, India is not going to be buying Russian oil anymore."
India denies any call with Trump
India later clarified its position just hours after the remarks by Trump. Hindustan Times reported that, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) reiterated that the policies for importing energy are driven by domestic compulsions. “India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective," the MEA stated.
When asked about any discussion between PM Modi and Trump, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "I am not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders.”
