Donald Trump shouldn’t announce India’s decisions: Shashi Tharoor slams US President over claim on Russian oil imports

Congress leader Shashi Tharoor

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday took a swipe at US President Donald Trump for claiming that India would significantly reduce its Russian oil imports by the end of the year, saying the American President should refrain from making announcements on behalf of New Delhi.

Speaking to ANI, Tharoor said, “I don’t really think it’s appropriate for Trump to be making announcements about India’s decisions. I think India will make announcements about its decisions. We don’t tell the world what Trump will do. I think Trump should not be telling the world what India will do.”

Earlier on Wednesday (US local time), President Trump claimed that India would scale down Russian oil imports, citing what he described as an assurance from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“India, as you know, told me that they would stop. It is a process; you can’t just stop it. But by the end of the year, they will be down to almost nothing. That’s a big thing, that is almost 40 per cent of the oil. India has been great. Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday and they have been absolutely great,” Trump said during an interaction with the press at the White House while hosting NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

Donald Trump also described the move as a “gradual process” and said India would bring Russian oil imports “down to almost nothing” by year-end.

However, India has denied any such agreement, maintaining that its energy policy is guided by national interests, ensuring stable prices and secure energy supplies for its consumers.

This comes in the backdrop of Trump imposing 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods and urging New Delhi to diversify its energy sources.

US President Donald Trump has reiterated his claim that India has agreed to “stop” buying oil from Russia and would bring them down to “almost nothing” by the end of the year.

However, he said, it is a process and will take some time.

Trump also said that he would try to persuade China to do the same. China and India are the two biggest buyers of Russian crude oil.

“India, as you know, has told me they are going to stop (buying Russian oil)… It’s a process. You can’t just stop… By the end of the year, they’ll be down to almost nothing, almost 40 per cent of the oil. India, they’ve been great. Spoke to Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi yesterday. They’ve been absolutely great,” the president told reporters at White House on Wednesday.

Trump has been claiming for the past few days that India has assured him that it will significantly reduce its oil imports from Russia.