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- By Soumyaroop Mukherjee
- Sun, 01 Feb 2026 10:20 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
A day after the United States told Delhi it could soon resume purchases of Venezuelan oil to help replace imports of Russian oil, President Donald Trump claimed that New Delhi has agreed to the deal and will stop purchasing crude oil from Iran.
"China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil. We've already made a deal. India is coming in, and they're going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran,” the US president said while speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Saturday evening en route to Florida from Washington DC, quoted by Reuters.
#WATCH | US President Donald J Trump says, "China is welcome to come in and make a great deal on oil... We've already made a deal. India is coming in, and they're going to be buying Venezuelan oil as opposed to buying it from Iran. So, we've already made the concept of the… pic.twitter.com/PlVfDHys9S
— ANI (@ANI) February 1, 2026
New Delhi has, however, not responded to the claims made by the US President.
Why Is America Trying To Stop Import Of Russian Oil?
America is trying to reduce the Russian oil imports to put a check on the revenue stream of Russia, which it is using to fund the war in Ukraine. The US is trying to replace this import with Venezuelan crude oil.
The American President also claimed that he is calling the shots in Venezuela and was the one who allowed Delcy Rodriguez to succeed as interim leader, as long as she adheres to what Washington wants, mainly allowing America access to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
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President Rodriguez, Prime Minister Modi Agree To Expand Bilateral Ties
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Venezuela’s interim President Delcy Rodríguez on Friday evening agreed to expand bilateral relations across sectors in the years ahead. It was the first time that the two leaders since the capture of Maduro and his wife by the US on January 3.
"Spoke with the Acting President of Venezuela, Ms Delcy Rodriguez. We agreed to further deepen and expand our bilateral partnership in all areas, with a shared vision of taking India-Venezuela relations to new heights in the years ahead," PM Modi said in a post on X.