Donald Trump says Narendra Modi promised him India will stop buying Russian oil

US President Donald Trump says Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has pledged to stop buying oil from Russia.

Trump said he would next try to get China to do the same as Washington intensifies efforts to cut off Moscow’s energy revenues.

India and China are the two top buyers of Russian seaborne crude exports, taking advantage of the discounted prices Russia has been forced to accept after European buyers shunned purchases and the US and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump has targeted India for its Russian oil purchases, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the US to discourage the country’s crude buying as he seeks to choke off Russia’s oil revenues and pressure Moscow to negotiate a peace deal in Ukraine.

“... No, we were not happy with (Modi) buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war where they’ve lost a million and a half people,” Trump told reporters from the Oval Office as he criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.

“He assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing.”

The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether Modi had made such a commitment to Trump.

Russia is India’s top oil supplier. Moscow exported 1.62 million barrels per day to India in September, roughly one third of the country’s oil imports. For months, Modi resisted US pressure, with Indian officials defending the purchases as vital to national energy security.

While imports from other producers would likely cost India more, lower oil prices would temper the impact. Benchmark Brent crude futures hit a five-month low on Wednesday on concerns about a growing surplus in the market.

A move by India to stop imports would signal a major shift by one of Moscow’s top energy customers and could reshape the calculus for other nations still importing Russian crude. Trump wants to leverage bilateral relationships to enforce economic isolation on Russia, rather than relying solely on multilateral sanctions.

During his comments to reporters, Trump added India could not “immediately” halt shipments, calling it “a little bit of a process, but that process will be over soon.”

Despite his push on India, Trump has largely avoided placing similar pressure on China. The US trade war with Beijing has complicated diplomatic efforts, with Trump reluctant to risk further escalation by demanding a halt to Chinese energy imports from Russia.

Trump imposed a 25 per cent tariff on India this summer after the two countries failed to reach an initial trade agreement. He followed up with an additional 25 per cent because of the country’s purchases of Russian oil.

India chafed at the move because no other top purchasers of Russian oil, like China or Turkey, were hit with similar tariffs.

with AP