The United States and India recently engaged in fruitful trade discussions, during which it was revealed that Indian refiners are set to reduce their imports of Russian oil by 50%, according to a White House official speaking to Reuters on Thursday. However, Indian sources, cited by Reuters indicated that the reduction has not yet been observed. They suggested that any decrease might become apparent in the import data for December or January. The sources noted that orders for November shipments, which include some cargoes scheduled to arrive in December, have already been placed.
Furthermore, the Indian government has not officially requested refiners to decrease Russian oil imports, the sources added.This report comes amid claims from US President Donald Trump that Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that India will stop buying Russian oil.Also read: Moscow reacts to Trump’s claim on PM Modi stopping Russian oil trade; says ‘our supplies very beneficial for Indian economy’
Talks between PM Modi or Trump? India says no
When asked, earlier this week, whether Trump views India as a reliable partner, Trump said, “Yeah, sure. He’s (PM Narendra 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.”However, the ministry of external affairs denied any claims of talks between the two leaders. “On the question of whether there was a conversation or a telephone call between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, I am not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during his weekly briefing. “As per my information, there was no phone conversation between PM Modi and President Trump yesterday,” he said, adding that, the last phone conversation between the two was on October 9.In an earlier statement too, MEA asserted that India’s energy policy is guided strictly by national interests and the need to protect consumers amid volatile markets. “India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” it said.Read more: Donald Trump’s claim on Russian crude oil- Will India stop buying it? Here’s what’s happening
