US President Donald Trump has made fresh remarks on India's Russian oil purchases. Earlier, the US President had said that India told him it would stop
buying Russian oil. However, facing repeated rebuttals from New Delhi, Trump tweaked his remarks slightly. Addressing reporters in Washington, Trump said India would gradually stop purchasing Russian oil, calling it "a process". "India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop... it's a process. You can't just stop (buying oil from Russia)," Trump said, adding that by the "end of the year, they'll be down to almost nothing; almost 40 percent of the oil". His remarks came after US sanctioned two major Russian oil firms, Rosneft and Lukoil, over the ongoing Ukraine war and the failure of the Vladmir Putin government to arrive at a ceasefire. The US administration demanded that Moscow immediately cease its military operations, intensifying economic pressure through energy-related sanctions. India has consistently rejected Trump's claims that New Delhi would cut down oil imports from Russia, saying that its priority remains "protecting national interests". Seemingly comparing India and China in terms of ties with Russia, Trump also said, "India.. PM Modi.. you know they are great.. China is a little bit different. They have a little bit different relationship with Russia. It was never good, but because of Biden and Obama, they got forced together. They should never have been forced together... They (China-Russia) can't be friendly... I hope they are friendly, but they can't be." US has imposed 155% tariffs on China, effective November 1 if no trade agreement is reached.
