United States President Donald Trump has claimed that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has agreed to stop buying oil from Russia, as Washington intensifies efforts to choke off Moscow’s energy revenues amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Speaking at a White House event, Trump said, “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. Now we’re going to get China to do the same thing.”

India and China are currently the two largest importers of Russian seaborne crude, capitalizing on discounted rates after European buyers turned away following US and EU sanctions imposed on Moscow in response to its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Trump has recently criticized India over its continued oil trade with Russia, imposing tariffs on Indian exports to the United States to discourage the practice. He argues that cutting off Russian oil revenues is crucial to pressuring Moscow into negotiating a peace deal with Kyiv.

The Indian Embassy in Washington has yet to respond to queries on whether Modi indeed made such a commitment to Trump.

Russia remains India’s top oil supplier, exporting about 1.62 million barrels per day to India in September—roughly one-third of the country’s total imports. Despite repeated US pressure, New Delhi has long defended the purchases as essential to ensuring its energy security.

Should India move to halt imports, it would mark a major policy shift for one of Moscow’s key energy clients and could influence other nations still purchasing Russian crude. Trump emphasized that India’s transition away from Russian oil would not happen “immediately,” describing it as “a little bit of a process, but that process will be over soon.”

While Trump has turned up pressure on New Delhi, he has been less aggressive toward Beijing. The ongoing US-China trade tensions have complicated diplomatic engagement, with Trump appearing cautious to avoid further escalation by demanding China halt its own Russian oil imports.
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