Trump: Modi pledged to stop India buying Russian oil

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had pledged to him to stop buying oil from Russia. Trump confirmed that he would then seek to persuade China to take the same step, in an escalation of Washington’s efforts to drain Moscow’s energy revenues.

The biggest buyers on the pressure table

India and China are the largest importers of Russian seaborne crude, taking advantage of reduced prices that Russia was forced to offer after European refiners avoided buying and the United States and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The Trump administration recently targeted India specifically because of its purchases of Russian oil, and imposed tariffs on Indian exports to the United States to pressure New Delhi to reduce its imports, as part of Washington’s efforts to force Moscow to negotiate for peace.

Trump quoted Modi as saying: “I was not happy that India was buying oil, and today he (Modi) assured me that they will not buy oil from Russia… This is a big step.” Now we will work to get China to do the same.”

New Delhi did not confirm.. Japan receives the message

Indian Embassy officials in Washington did not immediately respond to email queries on whether Modi had actually made this pledge to Trump.

In a simultaneous development, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said later on Wednesday that he informed Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato in a meeting in Washington that the Trump administration expects Japan to stop importing Russian energy.

Picent explained on the “X” platform: “Minister Kato and I discussed important issues related to economic relations between the United States and Japan, and the administration’s expectations that Japan will stop importing Russian energy.”

An Indian makeover is a game changer

Russia is India’s number one oil supplier, exporting 1.62 million barrels per day in September, representing about a third of the country’s oil imports. For months, Modi resisted US pressure, and Indian officials defended these purchases as vital to national energy security.

Although importing oil from other producers may cost India more, falling global oil prices may mitigate this impact. It is noteworthy that Brent crude futures contracts recorded their lowest level in five months on Wednesday, amid fears of increasing surplus in the market.

India’s move to halt imports would represent a major shift from one of Moscow’s largest energy customers, and could reshape the calculations of other countries that still import Russian crude. Trump seeks to exploit bilateral relations to impose economic isolation on Russia, instead of relying solely on multilateral sanctions.

“It cannot be stopped immediately.”

In his comments, Trump added that India cannot stop the shipments “immediately,” describing the matter as “a simple process, but this process will end soon.”

Despite the pressure on India, Trump has largely avoided putting similar pressure on China. The US trade war with Beijing has complicated diplomatic efforts, as Trump has been reluctant to risk further escalation by demanding a halt to Chinese energy imports from Russia.

It is noteworthy that Trump imposed 25 percent tariffs on India this summer after the two countries failed to reach an initial trade agreement, and this was followed by additional duties of 25 percent due to the country’s purchases of Russian oil. India resented the move for not imposing similar duties on other major buyers of Russian oil, such as China or Türkiye.