US President Donald Trump has again threatened India with “massive” tariffs unless it limits its purchases of Russian oil, while reiterating that Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally assured him that New Delhi would halt such imports.
“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” President Trump told media on board Air Force 1, as he returned to Washington.
When questioned about the Indian government’s denial of any such conversation between Modi and Trump, he said, “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that.”
Last week, Trump said Modi had assured him India would stop purchasing Russian oil after the US levied additional tariffs on India over these imports.
“He’s assured me there will be no oil purchased from Russia,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Oct. 15. “You know, you can’t do it immediately. It’s a little bit of a process, but the process is going to be over with soon.”
Trump has previously voiced concerns that India’s ongoing Russian oil imports indirectly support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
“I was not happy that India was buying oil,” he had said.
The relations between New Delhi and Washington have been under sever strain 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 called the US action as “unfair, unjustified and unreasonable”.
