‘Modi Assured Me India Won’t Buy Russian Oil’: Trump Repeats Claim for Third Time in Five Days

US President Donald Trump on Monday once again claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had assured him that India would stop purchasing oil from Russia — repeating the assertion for the third time in less than a week.

“I spoke with Prime Minister Modi of India, and he said he’s not going to be doing the Russian oil thing,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

When asked about India’s denial of any such phone call between the two leaders, Trump responded, “But if they want to say that, then they’ll just continue to pay massive tariffs, and they don’t want to do that,” according to Reuters.

Trump’s latest remark comes amid ongoing trade negotiations between India and the US, and follows his administration’s imposition of up to 50% tariffs on Indian imports — half of which took effect in August. The duties were described as additional penalties for India’s continued energy trade with Russia, seen by Washington as undermining efforts to pressure Moscow amid its war with Ukraine.

Officials in the Trump administration have previously accused India of making “huge profits” by refining and re-exporting Russian oil after the invasion of Ukraine, claiming that India’s purchases surged following the war’s outbreak.

Trump’s repeated claims

Trump first made the statement last week, asserting that Modi had personally assured him India would stop buying Russian oil. “I was not happy that India was buying oil. And he assured me today that they will not be buying oil from Russia. That’s a big step,” Trump said at the time.

He later added that the shift would take place “within a short period of time,” calling it “a little bit of a process.” Trump reiterated the same claim once more during a bilateral lunch with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, declaring, “Well, India is not going to be buying Russian oil anymore.”

India denies any such conversation

Soon after Trump’s first statement, India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a clarification reaffirming its independent stance on energy sourcing.

“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,” the MEA said.

When asked specifically whether Modi and Trump had spoken about the issue, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal replied, “I am not aware of any conversation yesterday between the two leaders.”