US President Donald Trump reiterated that India would stop buying oil from Russia, and claimed that New Delhi had already reduced imports, while stressing his plan to end the Ukraine war through diplomacy and tariffs.
“India will not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump said. “They have already de-escalated.” The US president made the remarks at the White House during his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, while emphasising on his plan to end the Ukraine war through diplomacy and tariffs.
Earlier this week, Trump had claimed that, in a phone conversation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop buying Russian oil. US believes that the import of Russian crude oil is helping fund Russia’s war against Ukraine.
However, the Ministry of External Affairs later dismissed Trump’s claims, saying that there was no phone conversation 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 had said during the press conference.
Trump, however, defended Hungary for continuing its import of Russian crude oil. “Hungary is sort of stuck because they have one pipeline that’s been there for years and years and years. They’re inland — they don’t have sea. It’s very hard for them to get oil. I understand it.” He said that Hungary has already begun reducing its oil imports from Russia. This shift in Trump’s stance coincides with an upcoming high-stakes meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest within the next two weeks.
