Trump warns India of massive tariffs over Russian oil purchases

US President Donald Trump warned India of “massive tariffs” if it continues buying Russian oil, claiming Prime Minister Modi assured him of a halt in purchases. India denies such a commitment, citing energy diversification and market conditions.

Washington: US President Donald Trump said that India is going to pay “massive tariffs” if it continues to buy oil from Russia, while reiterating that he got assurance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi that New Delhi is going to halt its oil purchases from Moscow.

Speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One, Trump said India will “continue to pay massive tariffs” if they do not cease buying oil from Russia, adding that “they (India) don’t want to do that.” Trump was replying to a question about India’s recent remarks on oil purchases from Russia.

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India last week said it is “broad-basing and diversifying” its sourcing of energy to meet market conditions, hours after Trump claimed that Modi assured him that New Delhi will stop procuring Russian crude oil.

Trump said he does not believe India made such remarks. “But I don’t believe they said that. No, I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” the US President added.

Washington has been maintaining that India is helping Putin to finance the war through its purchase of Russian crude oil. The relations between New Delhi and Washington have been reeling under severe stress after Trump doubled tariffs on Indian goods to a whopping 50 per cent, including a 25 per cent additional duty for India’s purchase of Russian crude oil. India described the US action as “unfair, unjustified, and unreasonable”.