India’s international ministry has mentioned it’s “not conscious” of a cellphone name by which US President Donald Trump claimed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to cease buying Russian oil.
On Wednesday, Trump said his Indian counterpart had “assured me today” that it would end Russian oil imports, a transfer the US has pushed for in a bid to extend financial stress on the Kremlin to finish the struggle in Ukraine.
However requested concerning the name on Thursday, an Indian authorities spokesman forged doubt on Trump’s account, saying he was “not conscious of any dialog between the 2 leaders” happening the day gone by.
The Indian authorities had earlier mentioned discussions had been nonetheless “ongoing” with the US over its Russian oil purchases.
India has develop into a key vitality buyer for Russia because the outbreak of the struggle, partly permitting the Kremlin to resist the affect of Ukrainian allies slashing oil and fuel imports, the nation’s greatest export market.
The Trump administration has put public and diplomatic stress on India to finish its assist for the Russian vitality market because it seeks to extend the Kremlin’s financial isolation and power an finish to the struggle. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Talking on the White Home on Wednesday, Trump mentioned he had acquired assurances from Modi on Wednesday that India would halt its purchases “inside a brief time period”.
In its preliminary response, the Indian authorities didn’t instantly dispute that the decision between Trump and Modi had taken place. It learn: “Our constant precedence to safeguard the pursuits of the Indian client in a risky vitality state of affairs. Our import insurance policies are guided fully by this goal.”
The Indian authorities’s second response on Thursday raises additional questions over whether or not a deal has been struck between Washington and Delhi.
BBC Information has contacted the White Home and State Division for remark.
Delhi’s continued reliance on Russian crude oil, which it imports at a reduction, have develop into a key supply of competition in US-India relations underneath the Trump administration, which has taken a harder line on the Ukraine struggle after Russian President Vladimir Putin did not agree a peace cope with the White Home.
India is second solely to China for the way a lot Russian vitality it imports, funding which helps to forestall the collapse of Russia’s essential fossil gas business.
Modi’s authorities has accused Ukraine’s allies of hypocrisy, pointing to ongoing commerce with Russia, together with vitality imports to the European Union, albeit at diminished ranges.
In its newest spherical of sanctions unveiled this week, the UK government said it would target a major Indian oil refinery because it “proceed(s) to get facilitate getting Russian oil onto international markets”. Officers mentioned India’s Nayara Vitality Restricted imported 100 million barrels of Russian crude oil value greater than $5bn (£3.75bn) in 2024 alone.
