US President Donald Trump has said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying Russian oil, as the US seeks to put economic pressure on the Kremlin to end the war in Ukraine.
Trump told reporters he had received assurances from Modi that India would halt its purchases “within a short period of time,” which he called “a big stop.”
The US president has sought to leverage India’s purchases of Russian oil in his trade war, but Delhi has so far resisted.
Reacting to the Trump remarks, an Indian government spokesman said discussions were “ongoing” with the US administration, which had “shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India.”
“Our consistent priority is to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” the spokesman said.
Oil and gas are Russia’s biggest exports, and Moscow’s biggest customers include China, India, and Turkey.
“Now I’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Wednesday, as part of his administration’s broader push to cut off Moscow’s energy funding.
In response, a Chinese government spokesman said it had “normal, legitimate economic, trade, and energy cooperation with countries around the world, including Russia.”
The Kremlin said Russia could provide good-quality oil at a lower price.
An official said that if countries were prevented from buying Russian crude, “then the principles of free trade are being violated.”
The Trump administration also wants Japan to stop importing oil and gas from Russia, and US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he communicated this “expectation” to visiting Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato on Wednesday.
India cannot “immediately” halt oil shipments, Trump said, adding that the shift will be “a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon.”
The Trump administration has imposed 50% tariffs on goods from India, levies that Trump has characterised as punishment against Delhi for buying Russian oil and weapons.
The tariffs – which took effect in August and are among the highest in the world—include a 25% penalty for transactions with Russia that are a key source of funds for its war in Ukraine.
Modi has for months stood his ground, arguing that India is neutral in the Russia-Ukraine war despite his country’s ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
In Moscow, Putin told an energy forum on Thursday that the country was still one of the world’s largest oil producers despite facing “unfair” measures.
Putin said, “Russia maintains its position as one of the leading oil producers, despite the use of unfair competition mechanisms against us.”
The UK and the European Union recently lowered a price cap on Russian crude oil from $60 to $47.60 a barrel to disrupt “the flow of oil money into Putin’s war chest.”
The measure was first introduced in late 2022, after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Indian officials have called the Trump administration’s accusations that Delhi profits from Russia’s war in Ukraine a double standard, citing ongoing trade with Russia in the US and Europe.
India relies on Russian crude oil, which Delhi has continued to buy at a discount, to support its economy, the fifth largest in the world.
The dispute over Russian oil has strained the relationship between Trump and Modi, although the US president on Wednesday praised the Indian leader as a “great man.”
Modi said last week that he spoke with Trump and that they “reviewed good progress achieved in trade negotiations.”
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