Trump’s claim about Modi’s Russia oil import slash pledge deepens India–US strain

Ministry of External Affairs, in its response to the claim from the White House avoided an overtly confrontationist approach and stated that New Delhi’s import policies were entirely guided by the objective of safeguarding the interests of consumers of India.

New Delhi: India will not buy oil from Russia, President Donald Trump has quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi as assuring him on Wednesday – a claim that once again raised questions about New Delhi’s strategic autonomy and added to the stress in its bilateral relations with Washington, D.C., despite recent attempts for a détente.

Modi did not have a phone call with Trump on Wednesday, New Delhi stated a few hours after the US president told journalists about receiving an assurance from the prime minister of India.

Trump’s latest claim once again exposed the government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party to political attacks from the Congress and the other parties in the Opposition. The Ministry of External Affairs, in its response to the claim from the White House, however, avoided an overtly confrontationist approach and stated that New Delhi’s import policies were entirely guided by the objective of safeguarding the interests of consumers of India. Without directly clarifying if it has any plan to lower the import of oil from Russia, New Delhi stated that its energy policies included broad-basing and diversifying sources in accordance with market conditions.

“He (Modi) is a friend of mine, we have a great relationship... We were not happy with him buying oil from Russia because that let Russia continue on with this ridiculous war (against Ukraine) where they've lost a million and a half people,” Trump said in response to a question while speaking to journalists at the White House in Washington, D.C.

The US president had, on August 6, announced an additional 25% tariff – on top of 25% levied just about a week back – on all imports from India. The additional 25% tariff had been imposed to prod India to stop buying oil from Russia.

Trump and his aides, over the past few months, have been giving vent to the disappointment in Washington, D.C., with New Delhi, as India continued to buy oil from Russia, defying the sanctions the US and the rest of the West imposed on the former Soviet Union nation to prod it to stop its “special military operations” in Ukraine.

“I was not happy that India was buying oil, and (Modi) assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia,” the US president said on Wednesday, adding: “That’s a big step. Now we’ve got to get China to do the same thing”.

New Delhi, however, categorically stated that the leaders of the two nations had not held a phone call on Wednesday. “As per my information, there was no phone conversation between PM Modi and President Trump yesterday (Wednesday),” Randhir Jaiswal, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), told journalists, adding: “The last phone conversation between Modi and Trump was on October 9.”

After an agreement was reached for the implementation of the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza, Modi called the US president on October 9 to congratulate him on the success of his endeavour to end the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

Jaiswal, however, did not clarify if the assurance about India bringing down its oil imports from Russia had been conveyed to the US through any other means.

Sergio Gor, who has been appointed as the new US ambassador to India, visited New Delhi on October 11 amid speculation that the leaders of the two nations might hold a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN conclaves and East Asia Summit in Kuala Lumpur to ease out the wrinkles in bilateral relations. Gor called on Modi and said that Trump considered the prime minister “a great personal friend”.

“He (Modi) has assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia. I don’t know, maybe that’s a breaking story. Can I say that?... He’s not buying his oil from Russia. It (has) started. He can't do it immediately; it’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon,” Trump told journalists on Wednesday.

Russia’s share in India’s total crude oil imports rose from less than 2% before the launch of its war in Ukraine in 2022 to around 40% by 2023–24. But, in recent months, Russia’s share had slipped to about 36% of total oil imports of India.

“India is a significant importer of oil and gas. It has been our consistent priority to safeguard the interests of the Indian consumer in a volatile energy scenario. Our import policies are guided entirely by this objective,” Jaiswal, the MEA spokesperson, said, in response to Trump’s claim about receiving an assurance from Modi. “Ensuring stable energy prices and secured supplies have been the twin goals of our energy policy. This includes broad-basing our energy sourcing and diversifying as appropriate to meet market conditions.”

New Delhi underlined that India had also been seeking to enhance its energy procurement from the US. “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.”

The relations between New Delhi and Washington, D.C., have already been under stress, not only because the US president imposed a 50% tariff on imports from India and his diatribe against India for buying oil from Russia, but also because his growing bonhomie with the civil and military leadership of Pakistan, in disregard of the sensitivities of India, and his repeated claims about brokering the May 10 ceasefire between the two South Asian nations.

Trump’s phone call on the birthday of Modi, attempts to restart stalled negotiations for a trade agreement, and the prime minister’s public support for the US president’s peace plan for Gaza, however, raised hope for a détente. But the US president’s latest comments about the assurance that India would cut down energy imports from Russia are likely to make the meeting of the two leaders in Kuala Lumpur difficult.