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New Delhi: US President Donald Trump has indicated that India may be stopping its Russian oil imports, labeling the potential action “a good step,” although he acknowledged he wasn’t sure_about the situation. The remarks come towards the backdrop of growing trade relations friction between Washington and New Delhi, after the US imposed new tariffs on Indian imports.
During the interview with ANI, Trump answered a question pertaining to sociopolitical sanctions and his outreach to Prime Minister Modi, “I heard that India is no longer going to be buying oil from Russia. That is a good step. We will see what happens.”
India is the world’s third largest oil import, and during the Ukraine war, Russia’s seaborne crude oil exports were buying by India. Nevertheless, the Reuters report mentioning Indian state refiners not purchasing Russian oil in the past week, brings forth a new narrative, albeit no formal affirmation.
During a media event on Friday, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, stated that “India’s energy choices are based on national interests and market forces.”
Not to mention, on the other side of the spectrum, the United States, particularly Trump and Marco Rubio, have been openly disapproving about India’s oil trade with Russia since the west placed sanctions on them. Furthermore, Trump seemed to lash out on India through his platform Truth social, claiming India was “obnoxiously” enforcing trade rules while simultaneously buying military equipment from Russia.
The other side of the story, Trump seems to have been at war with India too, announcing a 25% tariff on exports, alongside inviting penalties on oil purchases from Russia. Notice that after all this, he still decaled Modi to be his “friend” while crediting the trade talks with India that were already in motion. In his own words "They [India] sell a lot to us, but we don’t buy much from them because the tariffs are so high.".
Well, India “fires back” in the Parliament claiming that they will analyze the repercussions and react with whatever deemed appropriate to safeguard their interests.
Both sides have had both confidence in their relationships regarding strategy. “We remain focused on the substantive agenda,” said Jaiswal while pointing out the persistence in cooperation in the defense, technology, and economic sectors.
Read More: Putin Assures Modi of Continued Oil Supply Defying US Pressure on Energy Trade
