Trump baffles India with claim on Russia oil buys

US President Donald Trump claimed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has assured him India will stop purchasing Russian oil, but India denied any conversation occurred on Wednesday when Trump said the discussion took place.

- Shashank Mattoo

“He's assured me, there will be no oil purchase from Russia. I don't know. Maybe that's a breaking story,” Trump said at the White House, where he spoke highly of Modi, describing the Indian PM as “a great man” and “my friend”.

“That's a significant step. Now we're going to encourage China to do the same thing,” he added.

External affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the leaders had last spoken on October 9, not Wednesday. “On the question of whether there was a conversation or a telephone call between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump, I am not aware of any conversation yesterday [Wednesday] between the two leaders,” Jaiswal told a media briefing on Thursday.

Trump acknowledged that ending Russian oil purchases would take time. “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,” he said, adding: “Within a short period of time, they will not be buying oil from Russia, and they'll go back to Russia after the war is open.”