Trump claims Modi gave commitment to stop buying oil from Russia ‘soon’; Ministry denies the leaders discussed the issue, but says govt. is ‘broad-basing’ and ‘diversifying’ its energy sources.
India and the United States continued to differ publicly over Russian oil as U.S. President Donald Trump said he had been assured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi that India will stop buying oil from Russia, while the Ministry of External Affairs maintained the two leaders had not spoken about the issue.
However, the MEA said that India was “broad-basing” and “diversifying” its sources of energy according to market needs, and did not specifically deny the claim that it was reducing its intake.
Bone of contention
The subject of Russian oil, which has led to the U.S. imposing penalty tariffs on India, is also believed to be holding up trade talks between the two countries.
While the government has consistently denied it would bow to pressure, data analysed by The Hindu showed that oil public sector undertakings have dropped their Russian imports by as much as 45% between June and September this year, even though Russia remains India’s biggest supplier overall.
“I am not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters here on Thursday, also clarifying that a call between Mr. Modi and Mr. Trump last Thursday had only dealt with the Gaza peace plan and India-U.S. trade issues.
On Wednesday, Mr. Trump had said he was confident that India would end its oil imports “soon” but not “immediately”.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and [PM Modi] assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House, with U.S. Ambassador-designate to Delhi Sergio Gor also present.
“It’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon,” Mr. Trump said, adding, “That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing.” On Thursday, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs slammed the U.S. for “unilateral bullying” over its “legitimate” imports from Russia.
Going on to praise Mr. Modi as a “great man” who “loves Trump”, Mr. Trump said he did not want to “destroy [Mr. Modi’s] political career”.
“I’ve watched India for years. It’s an incredible country, and every single year you’d have a new leader,” Mr. Trump said, adding: “My friend has been there now for a long time.”
“It has been [India’s] consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario,” the statement said, referring to stable prices and secure supplies as “twin goals”. “This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions.”
The MEA was more direct on its response to U.K. sanctions on Nayara, an Indian refiner owned by Russian oil major Rosneft.
“India does not subscribe to any unilateral sanctions… There should be no double standards, especially when it comes to energy trade,” Mr. Jaiswal said.
