New Delhi: US President Donald Trump on Friday reiterated that India has already “de-escalated” and “more or less stopped” the purchase of oil from Russia. The statement comes despite the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday refuted Trump’s claim that PM Modi assured him of halting Russian oil imports.
Trump gave the statement during a bilateral lunch with Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Speaking to the media Trump said, “India will not be buying oil from Russia, they have already de-escalated and they have more or less stopped. They are pulling back. They have bought about 38 per cent of the oil, and they won’t be doing it anymore”.
On Thursday, talking to the media in White House, Trump said that he expressed his concern to Prime Minister Modi regarding the purchase of Russian Crude. “I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. Thats a big stop,” Tump said.
Responding to the claim, the Ministry of External Affairs said that we have the twin goals of ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies. “This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions.”
“Where the US is concerned, we have for many years sought to expand our energy procurement. This has steadily progressed in the last decade. The current Administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India. Discussions are ongoing,” MEA added in its response.