Trump Urges Modi To Finally Reveal Promise To Stop Buying Oil From Russia

US President Donald Trump with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi/PHOTO Dan Scavino via Wikimedia Commons

JAKARTA - US President Donald Trump said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to stop buying oil from Russia.

Trump said he would next try to get China to do the same as Washington intensified efforts to cut Moscow's energy revenue.

India and China are the two main buyers of Russian crude exports by sea, taking advantage of the discount price Russia has forced to accept after European buyers refused purchases and the US and the European Union imposed sanctions on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Trump recently targeted India for its purchase of Russian oil, charging India's exports to the US to prevent the country's crude purchases, while pressuring Moscow to negotiate a peace agreement in Ukraine.

"So I'm not happy India is buying oil, and he (Modi) assured me today that they will not buy oil from Russia," Trump told reporters at the White House.

"That's a big step. Now we're going to make China do the same thing," he continued.

The Indian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to questions via email about whether Modi had made the commitment to Trump.

Earlier on Wednesday, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had conveyed to Japanese Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato at a meeting in Washington about the Trump administration hoping Japan would stop importing Russian energy.

"Minister Kato and I also discussed important issues related to the US-Japan economic relations and the Government's hope that Japan will stop importing Russian energy," Bessent said on X.

The Japanese government did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Russia is India's main oil supplier. Moscow exported 1.62 million barrels per day to India in September, about a third of the country's oil imports. For months, Modi resisted US pressure, while Indian officials defended the purchase as vital to national energy security.

While imports from other manufacturers are likely to be more expensive for India, lower oil prices will reduce its impact.

Brent crude prices hit their lowest point in five months on Wednesday amid concerns about rising surpluses in the market.

India's move to stop imports will signal major changes by one of Moscow's main energy customers and could change calculations for other countries that still import Russian crude oil.

Trump wants to take advantage of bilateral relations to enforce economic isolation against Russia, instead of relying solely on multilateral sanctions.