This is the third time when Trump has made this assertion about India’s Russian oil purchase and PM Modi’s assurance. The 79-year-old Republican president has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India for procuring Russian oil, taking the total duties on New Delhi to a whopping 50 per cent.
US President Donald Trump on Monday issued a fresh warning to India over its purchase of Russian oil and said New Delhi would keep paying ‘massive tariffs’ if it decides to procure Russian crude. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, Trump also reiterated his claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil soon.ย
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump said, according to media reports. “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”ย ย
This is the third time when Trump has made this assertion about India’s Russian oil purchase and PM Modi’s assurance. The 79-year-old Republican president has imposed 25 per cent tariffs on India for procuring Russian oil, taking the total duties on New Delhi to a whopping 50 per cent. Though India has called the tariffs ‘unjust’, the Trump administration has defended its move.ย
India has categorically denied Trump’s assertion. Briefing the reporters at its weekly press conference on Thursday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said it is “unaware of any conversation” between PM Modi and Trump.
Talking about India’s Russian oil purchase, the government has constantly maintained that its priority is to safeguard the interests of Indian consumers. “Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.ย ย
Russia has emerged as India’s largest oil supplier since the beginning of Ukraine war, a move that has irked the entire West. According to Kpler, Russia accounts for India’s 34 per cent of total crude imports, making it New Delhi’s largest oil supplier.ย
Kpler is a Belgian commodities and shipping market tracker.ย
However, it said that there is a 10 per cent reduction in India’s imports from Russia compared to January. The Kpler data also suggested that Russia supplied 4.5 million barrels of oil per day to India in September.
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