Trump says Modi told him India would stop buying Russian oil

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Trump says Modi told him India would stop buying Russian oil

President Trump said Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi told him that India would stop buying Russian oil, a potentially significant move to further pressure Moscow over its war in Ukraine.

“I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “That’s a big step. Now we got to get China to do the same thing.”

Trump said the shift would happen “within a short period of time.”

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Trump in August announced he would increase tariffs on India by 25 percent over its purchases of Russian oil, bringing the total tariffs he has imposed on New Delhi to 50 percent.

The president had argued India’s purchases of Russian oil were fueling Moscow’s war efforts in Ukraine. He has since called on European Nations to do more to limit their purchases of Russian oil.

The move increased tensions between the U.S. and India, and Modi met in September with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in a gathering that was seen as a rebuke to the United States.