Donald Trump says PM Modi assures him India will not buy oil from Russia

US President Donald Trump, in an interaction with reporters on Wednesday, October 15, Eastern Time, said that he has been assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India will not be buying oil from Russia.

Reiterating that PM Modi is a "great friend and a great man", Trump said that he was unhappy with India buying oil from Russia as it enabled the latter to continue its war with Ukraine.

"We share a great relationship. We were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that lets Russia continue with this ridiculous war where they have lost a million and a half people. This is a war that should have never started but this is a war that Russia should have won in the first week, now we are entering the fourth year. I want to see it stop. So I was not happy that India was buying oil and he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That is a big stop. Now we got to get China to do the same thing. That is relatively easy compared to what we did last week in the Middle East," Trump told reporters on Wednesday.

The Indian administration is yet to confirm Trump's remarks in official capacity.

Responding to another question from a reporter on ties with PM Modi, Trump said that the meeting of US Ambassador Sergio Gor and PM Modi went very well and that he wants the Russia-Ukraine war to end soon.

"He can't do it immediately. It's a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over soon," Trump said in the context of Indian oil purchases from Russia.

"If India does not buy oil, it makes it much easier. They will not be buying oil from Russia and they will go back to Russia after the war is over," the US President is added.

Currently, Russia is India's top oil supplier, having exported 1.62 million barrels per day in September, which accounts for one-third of the country's oil exports.

Trump's remarks come amidst an Indian delegation currently visiting the United States to address the issues around tariffs, led by Commerce Secretary Rajesh Agarwal.

“If you look at data. energy purchases from the US in the past seven to eight years have gone up. Our energy purchases in the past have also touched $23-24 billion. Right now, we are at an average of $12-13 billion annually. There is a headroom for $14-$15 billion, which we can purchase without worrying about configuration of refineries,” Agarwal had said during a briefing.

The US has imposed a 50% tariff on Indian exports to the US. The Trump administration had increased the tariff to 50% from 25% earlier, over India's oil purchases from Russia.