During the Diwali celebrations in white House, the President of United States once again claimed that India will not buy “much oil from Russia”. Trump stated that he has talked to Modi, and the latter has agreed to reduce Russian oil imports.
On Tuesday, Trump said that he loves Indians, and they share a good relationship with the country. He also announced that both India and the US are working on several trade deals adding that India will not buy the Russian oil, which according to the western countries is fuelling the Russia-Ukraine war.
Earlier last week, the President was seen making similar claims, while no confirmation was received by Indian authorities. Once again talking to the reporters during the Diwali celebrations in White House he stated that PM Modi has agreed to reduce Russian oil imports, as he also looks forward to an end of the war. He further stated that he was happy with India and wanted to “get China to do the same thing”.
India’s external ministry has, however, denied the claims of any talk between the two leaders over the topic. Randhir Jaiswal, the official spokesperson of MEA, confirmed on 16 October that the two leaders had no phone call last week. He also revealed that the last call between Mr Trump and PM Modi was on 9 October, when the Prime Minister congratulated Trump on the success of the Gaza peace plan.
India and the US are facing a stressful time in their relationship due to the tariffs imposed by Trump’s administration and the pressure from the West to stop purchasing Russian oil. The tariffs have earlier been described by India as “unfair and unreasonable.” After the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022, India has emerged as a major oil importer from Russia as Western countries stopped imports.
Thereafter, New Delhi has been buying oil at a discounted price and has also increased the quantity of imports, citing national security reasons. The US has been trying its best to curb India’s oil purchase, as it believes that the money from oil imports in India is funding the Ukraine war. However, it is unclear whether India will continue or reduce its oil imports unless an official clarification from the authorities is received.
However, what is evident is Trump’s changing tone towards India as efforts to stabilise relations progress.
