US President Donald Trump has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi assured him that India will stop purchasing Russian crude oil.
Responding to a question on Wednesday, Trump said, “He is a friend of mine. We have a great relationship. He just said that two days ago. No, we were not happy with him buying oil from Russia… He assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big stop.”
The US president added that he will try to get China to also stop energy purchases from Russia, which is part of the US push to cut Russia’s funding in a bid to halt the war with Ukraine.
China and India are the largest buyers of Russian crude oil and account for the majority of the crude oil exports from the erstwhile Soviet Union.
The US President’s claim comes after the US Ambassador-Designate Sergio Gor’s week-long official trip to India concluded on Tuesday. While in Delhi, Gor met with Modi, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, NSA Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri.
Besides, Indian Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agrawal is scheduled to travel to the US on Thursday to join the Indian trade negotiators who are resuming talks with their American counterparts on the bilateral trade treaty.
Responding to queries on crude oil sourcing, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “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.”
Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of India’s energy policy. This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions, he added.
“Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed over last decade. The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” Jaiswal said.
Published on October 16, 2025
