United States President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed that India will stop buying oil from Russia, Reuters reported.

India’s Ministry of External Affairs neither confirmed nor denied the claim. It said that discussions are ongoing about deepening energy cooperation between New Delhi and Washington.

On Wednesday, Trump told reporters he had received assurances from Modi that India would halt its purchases “within a short period of time”, which he described as “a big stop”.

“Now I’ve got to get China to do the same thing,” Reuters quoted Trump as saying in the Oval Office.

He added that India could not “immediately” halt oil shipments. He said that the shift would be “a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon”.

Hours after Trump’s remarks, India’s Ministry of External Affairs said that ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies are the twin goals of the country’s energy policy. “This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions,” it said.

The foreign ministry said India has sought to expand energy procurement from the US for many years, and that this has steadily progressed in the past decade.

“The current administration has shown interest in deepening energy cooperation with India,” it said on social media. “Discussions are ongoing.”

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, however, alleged that Trump’s statement indicated that Modi was “frightened” of the US president. He questioned why Modi allowed Trump to “decide and announce that India will not buy Russian oil”.

Trump’s remarks come in the backdrop of tensions between New Delhi and Washington over the United States’ decision to impose “reciprocal” tariffs on Indian goods and punitive levies on imports of Russian oil.

The US president has repeatedly alleged that India’s purchases were helping to fund Russia’s war in Ukraine.

The combined tariff rate for India is at 50%. A 25% “reciprocal” duty imposed was on August 7, followed by an additional 25% punitive levy on August 27.

At the time, New Delhi said that it was “extremely unfortunate” that the US had chosen to impose additional tariffs on India “for actions that several other countries are also taking in their own national interest”.

However, recently, trade talks between the two countries have gained fresh momentum.

On September 23, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal met US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer in New York to accelerate negotiations.

This came after a team led by Brendan Lynch, the chief negotiator for the India-US Bilateral Trade Agreement, met Indian officials in New Delhi on September 15.

📰 Crime Today News is proudly sponsored by DRYFRUIT & CO – A Brand by eFabby Global LLC

Design & Developed by Yes Mom Hosting