Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump. File | Photo credit: Reuters
US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday (Oct 15, 2025) that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told him that India would stop buying oil from Russia, a move Trump described as a “big step” in an effort to isolate Moscow economically.
“So I was not happy that India was buying oil, and he assured me today that he would not be buying oil from Russia,” Trump told reporters during a White House event.
“You know, you can’t do it right away. It’s a bit of a process, but that process will be over soon.”
“That’s a big step. Now we’re going to get China to do the same.”
Modi “is a great man. He loves Trump,” the US president said, referring to himself in the third person.
“I don’t want to destroy his political career,” he said of Mr. Modi.
“I’ve watched India for years. It’s an incredible country and every year you’d have a new leader,” Mr Trump said, adding: “My friend has been there for a long time.”
The Indian embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to emailed questions about whether Mr. Modi had made such a commitment to Mr. Trump.
India’s pledge to stop buying Russian oil would mark a potential turnaround in global energy diplomacy as Washington steps up efforts to throttle Moscow’s oil revenues amid the ongoing war in Ukraine.
It would also signal a major shift in one of Moscow’s biggest energy customers and could change the calculus for other countries that still import Russian oil. It comes as Mr Trump seeks to use bilateral relations to enforce economic isolation rather than relying solely on multilateral sanctions.
During his comments to reporters, Mr Trump added that India could not stop supplies “immediately”, calling it “a bit of a process, but that process will end soon”.
(with inputs from AFP, Reuters)
Published – 16 Oct 2025 02:02 IST
