US President Donald Trump doubled down on his claim that India has halted the purchase of Russian oil. He also said that he has threatened to impose massive tariffs on Indian goods unless New Delhi agrees to his terms and halt purchase, NDTV reported.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” he reiterated his claim from last week, while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One.
In the previous week, India rejected Trump’s claim that he had a telephonic conversation with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about Russian oil imports. When Trump was asked about India’s assertion, he said that India will continue to pay massive tariffs, which they don’t want to do.
India emerged as the biggest buyer of seaborne Russian oil sold at a discount price after western nations stopped purchases and imposed sanctions on Moscow for invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
India is already paying 50% tariff on its export to the US. Out of the tariff rate, 25% is a penalty for Russian oil purchase. Trump has repeated many times that the penalties will remain in place if India does not reduce the purchase of Russian oil.
Trump’s remarks came amid a growing pressure on Russia’s trade partners, particularly in the energy sector, which Washington argued indirectly funds Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
The US President said last week that Modi assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil. Meanwhile, India’s foreign ministry rejected the claim. The ministry said that it was not aware of any telephonic conversation between leaders that day. India is concerned with safeguarding the interest of Indian consumers.
On Thursday, White House officials have claimed that India has halved the purchase of Russian oil but Indian counterparts said that no immediate reduction is done.
