White House claims India, China to scale back Russian oil purchases at Trump’s request

India, China to cut Russian oil

The United States has once again claimed that India has agreed to reduce its oil imports from Russia, following Washington’s latest round of sweeping sanctions on Moscow’s energy sector.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that New Delhi had taken steps to scale back purchases in response to a request from President Donald Trump. “If you read the sanctions and look at them, they’re pretty hefty. I saw some international news out of China this morning that they’re scaling back oil purchases from Russia,” she said.

“We know India has done the same at the request of the President. The President has also pushed European countries, our allies, to stop their purchases of Russian oil as well. So it’s a full-court press for sure. We expect that these sanctions are going to do harm, as the Secretary of Treasury said yesterday,” Leavitt added.

The remarks came a day after President Trump imposed major sanctions on Russia’s two largest oil producers, Rosneft and Lukoil, accusing Russian President Vladimir Putin of not being “honest and forthright” in peace talks over Ukraine. “I am glad he feels that way. I’ll let you know about it in six months from now. Let’s see how it all works out…” Trump said on Thursday, reacting to Putin’s assertion that the US sanctions would not affect Russia’s economy.

Earlier this week, Trump claimed that India had promised to cut its imports of Russian oil “down to almost nothing” by the end of the year, citing personal assurances 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 percent of the oil. India has been great. Spoke to Prime Minister Modi yesterday and they have been absolutely great,” Trump said during an interaction at the White House alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte.

However, New Delhi has rejected Trump’s claims, saying there has been no such commitment. Indian officials emphasised that the country’s energy policy is guided by national interests, focusing on securing affordable and stable supplies for consumers.