Trump Reiterates Stance: “India Not Buying Much Oil From Russia”
US President cites Diwali call with PM Modi, emphasizes India’s cutback on Russian oil amid global energy concerns
Washington, Oct 23: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday reiterated that India is not purchasing “much oil from Russia,” referring to his phone conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi during Diwali celebrations at the White House.
“I spoke to Prime Minister Modi today and we have a very good relationship. He’s not going to buy much oil from Russia. He wants to see that war end as much as I do, the war between Russia and Ukraine. They’ve cut it way back and are continuing to cut it way back,” Trump said.
While New Delhi has not officially responded to Trump’s statement, Prime Minister Modi acknowledged the Diwali greetings and thanked the US President for their “warm conversation.” India has previously maintained that its energy imports are guided solely by domestic interests.
“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 Indian government said earlier.
Separately, Trump announced new tariffs on Chinese imports, effective November 1, at approximately 155 percent. “I want to be nice to China, but China has been very rough with us for years because we had presidents who weren’t smart from a business standpoint. I made deals with the EU, Japan, and South Korea, great deals that protect our national security. Thanks to tariffs, we’re getting hundreds of billions, even trillions, paid into the United States. We’ll start paying off debt,” he added.
