Will India stop buying Russian oil? Trump says PM Modi has assured him
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump
In another contentious statement, US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop buying oil from Russia.
During a joint news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel at the Oval Office, Trump termed it a "big step" in the efforts to put pressure on Moscow to end the Ukraine war.
"Yeah, sure. He's (PM Modi) a friend of mine. We have a great relationship...I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That's a big stop. Now we've got to get China to do the same thing," the President said.
India and China are the top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports, taking advantage of the discounted prices Russia has been forced to accept after European buyers shunned purchases.
The US has accused New Delhi of funding Moscow's war machine through the oil purchase and imposed a 25 per cent punitive tariff, taking the total levy on Indian goods to the US to 50 per cent.
India, however, has defended its action, saying oil imports from Russia are essential for economic stability. Moscow exported 1.62 million barrels per day to India in September, roughly one-third of the country's oil imports.
Trump called Modi his "friend", but said he was not happy with New Delhi buying oil from Russia.
"We were not happy with him buying oil from Russia, because that lets Russia continue with this ridiculous war, where they've lost a million and a half people, by the way. Russia has lost a million and a half people, soldiers mostly," he said at the press conference.
The US President expressed optimism about resolving the Russia-Ukraine war and said it is relatively easy compared to what they did over the last week in the Middle East.
"You know, that is relatively easy compared to what we just did over the last week in the Middle East. The Middle East was 3,000 years, and we got it done. This is three years," he said.
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