India has rejected US President Donald Trump’s claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop buying crude oil from Russia. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday clarified that he was not aware of any recent conversation between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump. “I have no knowledge of any phone call or conversation between the two leaders yesterday,” he said. Trump had told reporters in Washington that India has started the process of stopping buying oil from Russia.
What did Donald Trump say?
Trump claimed in front of reporters, “Prime Minister Modi has assured me that buying oil from Russia will stop. This cannot happen immediately; it will take some time, but the process will be completed soon.” Trump also said his aim was to put economic pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war in Ukraine. “We want Putin to stop this war and stop killing Ukrainians and Russians,” he said. This war should have ended in a week, but it has now entered its fourth year.
“Our policy is driven by national interests”
Following Trump’s claim, Jaiswal clarified India’s energy policy, saying that India’s focus has always been on protecting the interests of its consumers and maintaining stable energy prices. He said, “India is a major importer of oil and gas. Our policy is driven by national interests. Our priority is to ensure affordable and secure energy supply to Indian consumers in a volatile global energy scenario.” He further said that India is working to expand its energy purchases and increase imports from various sources.
Trump has imposed 25 percent additional tariff on India
It is noteworthy that there are reports of tension between India and America on the issue of purchasing oil from Russia. The US believes that India’s purchases of Russian oil are providing financial support to Putin for the Ukraine war. The Trump administration recently doubled tariffs on goods imported from India to 50%, including an additional 25% duty on oil purchases from Russia. India has described the move as “unfair, unjust and impractical”.
