The Indian Overseas Ministry stated that it isn’t conscious of any contact that occurred between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, after the latter acknowledged that Modi promised to cease importing Russian oil.
Overseas Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal stated in a press convention in New Delhi on Thursday: “In response to our info, we aren’t conscious of any dialog between Prime Minister Modi and President Trump yesterday.”
Trump indicated on Wednesday that he had spoken with Modi, who, in response to him, pledged to cease importing Russian oil, in an indication that was understood as an try and calm the commerce dispute between the 2 international locations.
This dispute prompted Washington to impose customs duties of fifty% on Indian items, and Trump thought of this step a “punishment” for New Delhi for its continued buy of Russian crude.
On the American aspect, a White Home official stated, in response to inquiries from Bloomberg, that “fruitful discussions” occurred between the 2 sides, with out specifying the members, noting that India is “already lowering its purchases of Russian oil.”
Quite a few officers of state-owned Indian refinery firms stated that they had been stunned by Trump’s statements, explaining that they’d not acquired any directives relating to modifications in import coverage, though a few of them anticipated a brief decline in imports of Russian crude.